


Possession is 9/10's of Murphy's Law

by Mysterious_Prophetess



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bee Alya, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Demons, F/M, Fox Nathanel, Human Sacrifice, Identity Reveal, Mentions of blood at times, Peacock Mama Agreste, Possession, Supernatural Elements, TURTLE NINO, indirect mentions of nudity but nothing graphic, mentions of guns, references to Celtic mythology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-24 07:37:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8363440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysterious_Prophetess/pseuds/Mysterious_Prophetess
Summary: Whenever famous akuma victims start to vanish, Marinette thinks very little of it until lunatics attack her school........  There are those messing with forces beyond their control, and soon Paris will pay the price for their hubris.





	1. Part 1 Chapter1: Paranoia is in bloom

****“It’s totally weird—Marinette, are you even listening to me?” Marinette looked over at Alya. She had been staring at Adrien with a smile on her face. She blushed fumbled with her purse strap.

“What were you talking about?” she asked.

“In the last week, three famous teenagers have gone missing!” Alya said pulling up the stories on her phone. Aurore Beauréal, Mireille Caquet, and a young female model named Deidre Lefevre who had piercing gray eyes and silver blonde hair.

“Do they have anything in common?” Marinette asked.

“Well, they were all akumatized,” Alya said, “Deidre just the day before, after she was humiliated at a fashion show, remember?”

—————————————————————— ——————————

_It was an exclusive fashion show, and Marinette’s parents were providing the food for the guests and make-up artists. Marinette had begged to be allowed to tag along, and was happily passing out sweets dressed in a white dress shirt, light yellow vest, and a pair of black pants._

_“Getting in work experience for your future career, Marinette?” Marinette resisted the urge to rise to the bait whenever she saw Chloe was there. Of course she was. Even though this show was being held in_ _Hotel Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel, and not her father’s hotel, somehow the blonde menace was still present. Marinette ignored Chloe as she walked away tittering with her terrible laugh._

_“I am glad I don’t work at the Grand Hotel,” an employee of the Pullman said. A maid walking past as Marinette made a return trip to the kitchen to refill in treats shuddered._

_“I worked at_ **_that_ ** _hotel for two months and that girl is horrible,” she said, “And she also is constantly a target to akuma!”_

_“Little wonder why,” a waitress said as she too loaded up on pastries. Marinette bit back a grin. She returned to the main event in the ballroom as the show was starting. Marinette hovered around the sides as everyone stared at the runway that had been set up and she dreamed about having her own show one day._

 

_It would have awesome music, great lights, and—She snapped out of it when she heard an outraged shriek. She was just_ **_so_ ** _surprised whenever she saw Chloe was the source. So shocked. Really she was. Best Marinette could tell was someone had spilled something on Chloe’s hideous yellow jacket causing her to flail and her drink sloshed out. The shriek and the drink was a bad combination as it sent the next model onto her butt. Deidre sat stunned. She’d never fallen before. Ever._

_“What a clumsy idiot,” Chloe said cruelly trying to get the attention off herself and onto Deidre, and her cruel laughter worked. Marinette was surprised to see a blond head moving through the crowds until she wasn’t. Adrien. He climbed onto the runway and offered Deidre a hand up. The other model took it before she tore down the runway crying._

_“What’s your problem, Chloe?” Adrien said once he hopped down, “Can’t you—.” Whatever he was asking about her ability to do something was cutoff whenever more screams erupted from backstage. The curtains were blown away whenever a pair of clacking heals was heard._

_Wearing a dress that should have been impossible to move in was someone with hair done up in a pair of buns with trailing pigtails, silvery skin, and massive heeled boots that had heels and platforms at least 9 inches tall. Around her neck was a choker with a pendant on it._

_“I’m Run-Way, and you won’t be able run away from me, Chloe!”_

_“What does this always happen to me oh-ho-ho-hoho,” Chloe sobbed as people scattered away from her._

_“Gee,I wonder!” a waiter near Marinette said as they ran for cover. Something she needed to do too. She found a corner to hide in._

_“Tikki, Spots On!”_

_————————————— ———————— ——_

_Ladybug dashed out only to fall on her butt. She saw the other people were in the same dire straights._

_“I’d say we’re in a slippery situation, My Lady,” Chat Noir said from a table nearby. He extended his staff helping Ladybug up._

_“She makes the floors slippery?” Ladybug said._

_“More like she re-mew-ved the furr-riciton from the ground,” Chat Noir said. Ladybug heard a familiar wail and lo and behold Chloe was slipping and scrambling away from Run-Way, who was still walking on those heals as if the ground were normal._

_“I believe the akuma’s in her necklace,” Chat Noir said pointing to the blackened six pointed pendant on the choker._

_“What makes you say that?” Ladybug said before they had to avoid an attack from Run-Way via a boomerang shoe. Huh. Didn’t see that everyday. Honestly, who throws a shoe?_

_“If miaow intuition is correct, that is the model Chloe humiliated on the chat-walk, and Deidre always wears the same pendant during fashion shows because it’s her signature,” Chat Noir said._

_“Is the kitty a secret fashion junkie?” Ladybug teased._

_“I have many hidden depths, My Lady,” Chat Noir said before he blocked a shoe back at Run-Way._

_“Hand over your Miraculous!” she yelled._

_“No. We’d pre-fur you bring your attacks to a heel if you could!” Chat Noir said._

_“ARRG!”_

_“Nothing more to say? Chat got your tongue or are you going for brevity being the sole of wit?” Ladybug noticed every surface she hit with the shoes became frictionless. At the rate things were going, she and Chat Noir would be out of areas to land._

_“Lucky Charm!” she said tossing her yo-yo in the air as the last pair of chairs were hit and sent the heroes to the floor. The light cleared revealing a bottle of dish-soap._

_“What can I do with this?” Ladybug said._

_“I know!” Chat Noir said, “We need water though.” Ladybug looked around._

_“Slide over there and use cataclysm on the fire alarm system,” she said. Chat Noir nodded before he aimed his staff at the stage and used it to propel himself away from Run-Way’s stomp. He hit the wall._

_“Cataclysm!” he slammed his right hand into it and while the alarms going off were loud, the desired effect of the sprinklers activating occurred._

_“Oh! Like a waterslide!” Ladybug realized and let loose a large stream of dish-soap and aimed her yo-yo at a chandelier to get clear of Run-Way temporarily._

_“It won’ work! These heels are guaranteed no-slip!” Run-Way yelled._

_Releasing her yo-yo from the chandelier once she was in the air and then entangling Run-Way’s body and pulling making her fall in spite of her no-slip heels. Ladybug landed on top of Run-Way and ripped the pendant off and snapped it in her hand. She quickly retracted her yo-yo._

_“No more evil doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!” she slid off Run-Way and caught the akuma._

_“Gotcha! Bye-bye, little butterfly,” she said. She aimed her yo-yo at the bottle and pulled it back to herself._

_“Miraculous Ladybug!” she said as she tossed it in the air. Everything was restored and so was Deidre._

_Chat Noir held up a fist,_

_“Air Pound it!” he said. Ladybug smiled,_

_“Air Pound it!” she looked down and saw the akuma vessel was by her foot._

_Ladybug picked up the now silver snowflake pendant. She offered a hand to help Deidre up and placed the pendant in her hands once they were both standing._

_“It’s not fun when someone ruins things,” she said, “Sometimes you have to be the bigger person, even when it’s hard.”_

_“Thank you, Ladybug,” Deidre said._

_“And between you and me, I think you have a great career as a model,” Ladybug said._

——————————————————————————— ————————————————————

“Anyone else missing?” Marinette asked.

“Well in the last month four other famous teenagers who were akumatized while in Paris also went missing. There was Raphael Di’Angelo, the famous Italian pop-star who became the “Prince of Pop,” that ballet prodigy boy, Marcel Jete who became the “Demon Dancer”, there was a popular You-Tube star who should have won the Paris Talent show, but _someone_ had the votes skewed so his daughter won. Anyway, his name was Jean-Louis Dassier and he became “Justice Warrior”. Finally there was an Olympic Gymnast, Hector Martin who became the “Tumblr.” All missing, all former victims. Not only that but missing persons in general are up in the last month. Close to fifty extra people are missing, not counting these seven!”

“Maybe the two aren’t related,” Marinette said.

“Before we got our own team of superheroes, I might have believed that, but something in my gut is telling me this is something!” Alya said.

“Like when you thought Chloe was Ladybug?”

“You’re not going to let that go. This is different!” 

“Any other famous teenage akuma victims still in Paris?” Marionette said after a moment.

“None that are traditionally famous aside from Chloe,” Alya said, “Nino is potentially a target too, and so am I because we’re technically C list celebrities. Me for the Ladyblog and him for his appearances on the gameshow.”

“C list? I thought you had bumped yourself up to B-list?” Marinette said.

“After that Lila debacle, I had to post retractions. I can’t believe I did that! I acted like some tabloid writer and not the journalist I want to be!” Alya said, “I was a laughing stock amongst the other Ladybug blogs for a week. Ladybug probably thinks I’m a gullible moron.”

“I doubt that,” Marinette said, “Though, maybe you were a bit over eagerto believe her like most everyone else was.”

“Next time it’s pics or it didn’t happen,” Alya vowed as she smacked her right fist down on her open left palm.

“Sounds good to me,” Marinette said with a smile.

“So, we need to find a pattern among the other people too,” Alya said.

“We?” Marinette said.

“Sorry, I mean me,” Alya said.

“How many of the other extra 50 are akuma victims?” Marinette said.

“I don’t know, but that’s a great place to start looking!” Alya said before she ran off.

“Alya! What about class?”

————————————————————————— ————————————————————

Marinette ate her lunch playing with most of her food. It was troubling to think famous akuma victims were being targeted. It was even more troubling to think Alya would be targeted too. 

“Everything ok at school?” Sabine asked.

“Everything’s great, Maman, it’s just Alya stuff,” Marinette said before she actually ate her lunch. She _was_ starving. 

“Don’t forget, tonight your father and I are going out for dinner,” Sabine said.

“I’ll be home on time to watch the bakery I promise,” Marinette said, “Thanks Maman!”

————————————————————————— ——————————————

“There is no pattern!” Alya said making Marinette jump and scream. They were on the steps leading into the school.

“What?”

“Those other 50. No pattern!” she said.

“No akuma victims in them either?” Marinette asked.

“Not that I could tell, wait,” Alya scrolled through something on her phone.

“Are those police files?” Marinette asked.

“Max owed me a favor and helped me get into their server—ah! None of these people are akuma victims. That’s puzzling. Why go for seven famous akuma victims and then go for regular people. There’s something I’m looking at here but I can’t figure it out,” Alya said with a frown.

“I’m sure you can do it,” Marinette said. Something about this was unsettling for the good luck powered heroine, something she just couldn’t put her finger on. She had a bad feeling about this whole thing.

—————————————————————— —————————————————

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this because I wanted to go for a darker ML fic.  
> So, I will be releasing this up through Halloween.
> 
>  **Please note** : This was written before the NYCC debacle.  
> There had been concept art of the Bee user floating around before this point hence the weapon for the Bee matching. 
> 
> For your listening pleasure, Part 1 Chapter 1's title song is “Uprising” by Muse


	2. Part 1 Chapter 2: Black Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Marinette is late returning to school, she also manages to avoid being part of a hostage situation.
> 
>  
> 
> _Alya might be onto something._

**Part 1 Chapter 2: Black Skies**

The sun rises in the east and Marinette was late for school. Again. This time she was late getting back from lunch.

“I’m so-.” Marinette skidded to a halt because there was a police barricade around the school.

“What’s going on?” Marinette asked.

“Miss, you’re going to have to step back.” It was Officer Raincomprix. Marinette frowned before she dashed away and opened her purse.

“I don’t like this, Tikki,” she said to her kwami.

“If it’s an akuma, you have to act quickly,” Tikki said. Marinette nodded.

“Spots On!”

——————————————————————— ———————————

Ladybug landed by Officer Raincomprix.

“Ladybug!” he said.

“What’s going on here, Officer?” Ladybug asked.

“Ladybug, it’s a hostage situation in there. Shortly before classes were to have resumed for the afternoon, men in masks with guns invaded Francois Dupont and forced all the students into the common area. A teacher called 197 and another called 17 and a third called 112. The one who called 112 was able to describe that the situation had the whole of Francois Dupont in danger and that there were at least a dozen men with guns before we heard yelling and the call was dropped,” Officer Raincomprix said.

“Any demands?” Ladybug asked. Alya made her watch all those crime dramas, so something had to come from it.

“Just that we stay out of the building or they will start shooting people, that includes you, Mademoiselle Ladybug.” Ladybug looked to see a newcomer in a bulletproof vest and suit.

“I am the chief negotiator Gilles Laurent,” he said offering a hand. 

“Pleasure to meet you,” Ladybug said taking the hand, “I-oh no.”

“What?” 

“Look!” Ladybug pointed up at the black butterfly winging its way towards the school. She quickly moved to purify it but it landed on someone _outside_ the school. It was Alya’s mother. She transformed and Ladybug ran over to her.

“You have to not do this, there are gunmen in there who will shoot people!” She said grabbing the akuma villainess by her shoulders. Her costume was that of a stereotypical mother from a fifties sitcom except she also wore a cuirass over top of the dress and apron combo.

“You dare tell Bedla-Mom to not try to save her daughter?” the villainess asked.

“Hawkmoth, I know you’re listening. This is low even for you!” Ladybug said before she moved to rip the purse.

“Wait,” Bedla-Mom said, “I need this power to save my Alya, Hawkmoth hasn’t demanded anything from me yet.”

“We just received their first demand! IT’s for the “Lady of Creation and the Champion of the Lord of Chaos to leave and not come back,”Chief Negotiator Laurent said.

“Lady of Creation?” Ladybug said, “Oh, that’s me and the Champion I guess would be you.”

“Before you leave, he asks that you call the Lord of Destruction and ask him to come,”

“Chat Noir,” Ladybug said before she nodded and broke the purse strap of Bedla-Mom and purified the akuma. 

“I’ll send him over if I can find him sir,” Ladybug said before she swung off. It felt wrong to leave, but this was real. This wasn’t something she was sure she could fix with a Miraculous Cure. She pulled up her communicator and received no answer from Chat Noir. He wasn’t transformed. She hoped he’d see the news. She hated feeling so helpless. She went back home and transformed in an alley returning to see her parents had closed the shop. She ran upstairs and saw they were huddled by the TV.

“Maman? Papa?” 

“Marinette!” they crushed her in their hugs.

“We were worried you’d been caught up in that,” Sabine said.

“I’m ok, I’m just worried for everyone stuck inside,” Marinette said. She felt powerless. Good luck as her disposal and there was nothing she could do but pray Chat Noir showed up soon. 

Where was that alley cat? What was taking him so long?

————————————————————————————— —————————————

Adrien cursed his bad luck for the millionth time that morning as he was corralled with the rest of the students of College Francois Dupont.

“We sent away the Lady of Creation and she took care of the Champion of the Lord of Chaos, but there is no sign of the Lord of Destruction yet,” a minion said to the man Adrien assumed was the leader. The man was larger than the rest, most muscular and his gun looked fancier.

“Either the Black Cat doesn’t care or isn’t in a position to get here,” the leader said, “Could it be he is here?”

“Fate could be smiling down upon us, my lord,” the goon said. My Lord? Someone was _weirdly_ devoted to this cause perhaps. Wait. _He_ was the Black Cat. They were after _him_. They had figured out _he was already there and powerless_. This was not good. Good-bye secret identity. Hello extra fangirls. He looked up to see the leader had pulled out some sort of wand? He walked around and waved it over people. It did nothing until it reached Ivan and Mylene. That’s when it glowed bright lilac.

“Stand up and leave the girl,” the leader ordered Ivan. The boy agreed silently after one more look at Mylene. Nino and Nathanaëlsoon joined him before Kim and Max. Three other boys were sent up from other classes and grades then the leader strode near Adrien with the wand. The wand became a blinding green light and Adrien felt like he’d been exposed then and there. He joined the others and the leader examined them before waving the wand again and Adrien was still the different colored one, still the brightest reaction.

“Restrain him,” the Leader said. Two goons grabbed Adrien’s arms and the Leader invaded his personal space grabbing his chin and tilting it.

“You are the Black Cat, aren’t you?” he said, “How fortuitous that we found you like _this_.” 

“You have me, let everyone else go,” Adrien said.

“No denials?” the Leader asked,

“Too late for that, the cat’s out of the bag,” Adrien said bitterly as the shocked whispers ripped through the other hostages. The Leader nodded before he brought the but of his assault rifle down on Adrien’s head knocking him unconscious.

—————————————————————————————————— ————————————————

The screams that broke out were quickly silenced by a brandished gun.

“We have what we need here,” the Leader said before he slung Adrien over his shoulder. 

“I recognize that kid. His Dad’s a rich famous guy,” a goon said.

“We need to get out of here posthaste. Tell the Negotiator he is to let us out of here unmolested if he wants the children inside to live,” the Leader said, “I need volunteers to stay behind. There is no guarantee that you will make it out of this.”

“I will sir!”

“Me too!”

“I thank you for your sacrifice. Laita a’Touttais!”

“Laita a’Touttais!” Alya narrowed her eyes and committed that strange call to memory. The Leader and her friend vanished from sight as nine other goons left the area.It felt like an eternity later whenever the other two bolted out the back doors as the Police burst into the school. Alya pulled out her phone and realized it had been on record _the whole time_. She was about to hand it over, but remember the _other_ information on it and decided against it. She’d send them the video anonymously later. For the moment she needed to figure out where that strange salutation came from and what it had to do with—

Nope. Still not dealing with the fact Chat Noir **_was under her nose, literally, the whole time_!** Nope. Not dealing with that now.

Adrien as himself was in danger and that head wound looked nasty: there was blood running down the blond’s face as he was being carried out like a sack of potatoes. 

“This bites!” Nino said.

“I know, but we need to get clear of here before anything _else_ happens. Meet me at my place in twenty minutes,” Alya said. 

“Alright,” Nino said. Alya looked up from her phone in time to grab an older man back to the sidewalk, keeping him from getting run over. Huh. A Hawaiian shirt. You didn’t see _that_ everyday in Paris.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“I’ll be alright miss. Your diligence is quite remarkable,” he said.

“It’s no problem, but I need to get going if I’m going to figure out how to save my friend,” she said. She didn’t see the man looking after her with a thoughtful look on his face, nor did she see him nod to himself. 

“Alya!” Someone grabbed her from behind. She knew who it was from the fact they smelled like good food.

“Mom?” Alya turned in the hug and retuned it. She really needed this hug to deal with everything.

———————————————————————————————— ————————————

Marinette was still frozen in front of the TV. 

“Breaking news, the masked gunmen who held College Francois Dupont hostage have taken Adrien Agreste and there are reports coming out from witnesses that the blond teen model might also be one half of Paris’s very own superhero duo.”

——————————————————————— ————————————

Nino was pissed as he stood in front of his TV.

“I’m punching whoever talked!” he growled. It cut over to Lila.

“I’m not surprised, lying little attention seeking—.”

“ ** _Nino_**!”

“Sorry, Mom,” Nino said.

——————————————————————————— ——————————————————

“It’s Lila, so she could be lying?” Tikki said patting Marinette’s arm. Marinette didn’t respond until her phone began to ring incessantly. She fumbled and fell off her chair before she answered the call.

“Hello?”

“I guess you saw the news? Nino’s already called dibs for wringing her neck,” Alya said, “Just when we thought we were free of that little attention grabber.”

“Adrien really is Chat Noir?”

“He admitted it to the guy with this weird wand-y thing. That thing was also how he knew Ladybug had shown up. It glowed red whenever she was outside,” Alya said, “Nino was right next to him and the line of guys was in front of that Lying Lila!”

“This is bad. Superheroes have secret identities for a reason, right?” Marinette said.

“You’re right—oh I’m an idiot. Here I am trying to find out who she is and expose her and I didn’t even think that there was a reason Ladybug and Chat Noir hid,” Alya said, “I haven’t found out much yet, but I sent the audio I accidentally recorded to the police anonymously. There was something about what they said as they left the room with Adrien. I think if I can crack what that was, I can figure out what these people want with Paris’s black cat and why they were so terrified of Ladybug.”

“Adrien’s dad just appeared on TV,” Marinette said. 

“I see it,” Alya said.

——————————————————— ———————————

Gabriel Agreste did not look pleased to see the camera crews in front of his mansion.

“Mr. Agreste, what do you think about the allegations that your son might be Chat Noir?”

“Mr. Agreste did you know?”

“If I may have a moment? Are any of you parents? Do you really think I would be willing to let my son perform dangerous acts of heroism on a daily basis with my blessing? Should he not turn out to be Chat Noir and end up hurt because of this widespread belief, I hope those who decided to run to the news with this information are prepared to face consequences for their actions. I will answer no more questions from the press.I hope that you understand the this is a difficult time for me.”

—————————————————————————————————— —————————

“He just threatened Lila!” Alya and Marinette said in unison.

“I hope they show her reaction, oh look! She’s now pale and freaking out. I’m sending a mass text to the others who heard it to keep their mouths shut and make Lila look like a—oh wait, Nino already did and everyone’s on board. Chat Noir’s helped us out too many times to let this stand,” Alya said.

“That’s a huge relief,” Marinette said.

“I’ve got to go. I’ll keep you posted on whatever I can figure out,” Alya said before she hung up.

“Is he Chat Noir, Tikki?” Marinette asked.

“Alya confirmed it,” Tikki said with a shrug, “And sometimes I could swear I sense Plagg just in front of you.”

“Plagg?”

“Chat Noir’s Kwami. We’re a pair,” Tikki said, “I haven’t seen him in centuries. I hope they’re both alright.”

“Is there anyway you can track him?” Marinette said.

“When he’s not transformed? Oh! The Guardian might know!”

“That’s right!” Marinette said. She grabbed her bag and raced down the stairs calling out a random excuse to her parents before she took off down the streets.

—————————————————————— ———————————————

“I’ve been expecting you, Ladybug,” Master Fu said.

“Is there anyway I can track Chat Noir without him being transformed?” Marinette asked.

“Perhaps. If you have anything of his that he’s touched, I could do something with that,” Master Fu said. Marinette’s face fell before she gained a determined look on her face, “I think I have something. I’ll be right back.” 

———————————————— ———

Marinette arrived panting holding up the crumpled poem. 

“This will do,” Master Fu said before he began to get the ingredients for the spell. Marinette waited until he said the final incantation and the paper glowed.

“Transform,” Master Fu said. Marinette nodded.

“Spots On!” 

“Hand me your yo-yo, if you please,” Master Fu said. Ladybug did so and he tapped the poem against it and the glow transferred from the paper into the yo-yo

“That should help guide you to Chat Noir’s location, but the magic will need to be redone in six hours if you haven’t found him by then,” Master Fu said.

“I’ll do my best,” Ladybug said.

——————————————————————————————— ———————————

Alya listened to the recording one last time.

“Laita doesn’t seem to be anything, so, “Tou-ta-is?”” she mumbled before she tried to write the name as it sounded. Nothing, so she played around with the number of letters. “Toutatis”? No. “Tuetahis?” No. She tried “Touttais.” A hit. It was some obscure reference mentioning a book. Great. Alya searched for the book and then used the nearest library’s site to see, yes! Had it!

“I’ll be back later!” she said racing out the door. The sooner she figure out what “Touttais” was, the sooner she could crack this story, she could feel it in her bones.

———————————————————————— ——————————————

It was painful to open his eyes, but Adrien felt metal digging into his wrists. He was in some sort of cavern and he was suspended by his wrists. He looked down and realized two things. One, he was hanging over some sort of indentation that looked uncomfortably like a fire pit, and two, they had changed his clothes while he was out. He was wearing some sort of black kilt like skirt with no shoes or shirt, though he could feel the cold bite of metal in his ankles too. There was some torchlight around him and he could see six other pits with people dressed like him, and three were females, which made him avert his eyes from their direction. He saw Plagg was in some sort of tinted cage, and he hadn’t escaped. Why hadn’t the kwami escaped? It was too hard to keep awake and unconsciousness dragged the blond back under.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one night? Yes you are that lucky!  
> Since I screwed up my own posting schedule (I meant to start posting this on Friday) I'll have to make it up with a couple double postings.
> 
> Part 1 Chapter 2's title song is “New Divide” by Linkin Park


	3. Part 1 Chapter 3: In the end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug never thought she'd have to work with one of her worst enemies to save Chat Noir, but that was exactly what she found herself doing.
> 
>  
> 
> _Time was swiftly running out_

Ladybug swung across Paris following the flashing cat paw icon on her yo-yo. If she hadn’t been sure Adrien was Chat Noir, this would have been the final proof she needed. She leapt and landed on top of what seemed to be a random place in Paris. She looked and could sort of see the Opera Bastille in the distance. That meant she was in the 12th Arrondissements. Yet there was no Chat Noir nor anyone else except a few confused tourists. She needed to know if there was anything else in this area. She walked around and eventually found road signs. 

“A tunnel?” Ladybug nodded before she found the tunnel and the icon was still in the same place. In fact, she pressed on the magical map and it indicated that the symbol was even farther underground than that? But how?

———————————————————— ————————————————————

“Why won’t any of you admit you heard it too!” Lila screamed at the other witnesses who suddenly pretended that they hadn’t heard Adrien Agreste admit to being Chat Noir.

“Because you’re nothing more than a lying attention whore,” Chloe said stepping forwards, “A lying attention whore who doesn’t know when to quit while she’s ahead.”

“I’ll prove to Paris it is all of you who are lying!” Lila said. The butterfly that fluttered into view wasn’t totally unexpected. It landed on Lila’s sweater

**_“Vulpina, it would appear people are not believing you even when you tell the truth, would you like the power to prove yourself right? I can help you if you do as I ask.”_ **

“Of course, Hawkmoth,” Lila said before she became Volpina again, “I’ll get those miraculous—.”

**_“That can wait. Find Ladybug. Lead her to Notre Dame,_** ” Hawkmoth said.

“Fine. But can I get those earrings from her later.”

**_“Only when I say you can.”_**

————————————————————————— —————————————

Ladybug was searching for an access hatch to go deeper whenever Volpina arrived.

“I don’t have time for this,” Ladybug snarled throwing her yo-yo at Volpina dodged.

“Hold on a second, Ladybug. Hawkmoth wants you to follow me,” she said.

“Why should I trust the word of a known liar?” Ladybug said, 

“Because you have no other choice,” Volpina said. Ladybug narrowed her eyes but followed after the fox akuma and she followed her up onto the roof of Notre Dame to see—,

“Hawkmoth.” The Illusionary image had been accurate after all. Ladybug walked over and touched him before flipped out of earring grab range just to prove this wasn’t another of Volpina’s tricks.

“What’s so important that you actually are meeting me in person, Hawkmoth? Come to surrender?” Ladybug asked. The silver masked, purple suited villain glared at her.

“Ladybug, it would appear we both need Chat Noir to reappear because if he is lost so is his Miraculous,” Hawkmoth said.

“You only want to help me so you can take our Miraculouses later? How noble,” Ladybug said. 

“I’m honest,” Hawkmoth said, “I’m offering a truce until this is over.”

“If she makes one grab for my Miraculous, this is off, understand?” Ladybug said, “I’m only agreeing to this for Chat Noir’s sake.”

“Very well,” Hawkmoth said.

“I have a location, but I don’t know how to reach him,” Ladybug said after a moment revealing the map on her yo-yo screen.

“He’s underground somewhere. This icon will only be there for another five hours and fifteen minutes.” Hawkmoth examined the map and pressed it making it magnify and studied it thoughtfully.

“I will do some research and get back to you as soon as possible,” he said before he vanished into the shadows. 

“So, was the real reason you humiliated me in front of Adrien because he was your partner, Ladybug?” Volpina asked.

“No comment,” Ladybug said, “Something _someone_ should have been saying to the cameras instead of telling everyone about Chat Noir.”

—————————————————————————— ——————————————————————

Alya found the book in the library and flipped to the index. 

“Touttais, Touttais! Ah there!” she flipped through it eagerly and nearly dropped the book when she saw the page. 

On the one page, there was an illustration that dominated most of the white space and it depicted a black cat monster with eerie green eyes. 

“The ancient Gaulish god of destruction, Touttais was associated with war and chaos. Not much survives about worship of Touttais, but his followers wore rings with “TOT” engraved on it,” Alya slapped her head. A cult around that era’s Chat Noir! She saw no references to a corresponding red and black goddess. She flipped through the rest of this book searching for it and found not one vaguely ladybug like description of a goddess. Wait. She’d jumped to conclusions with Chat Noir equalling Touttais. What if these loons had also jumped to conclusions that Chat Noir had something to do with Touttais? It made sense! Alya flipped back to the Touttais section and her blood ran cold. Human sacrifice is part of Touttais worship. Oh no! She had to let someone know about this, she had to let Ladybug know, but how? She had to find Ladybug!

————————————————————————————— ———————————————

Ladybug sat on a roof top away from Vulpina as she wondered how long she should wait for Hawkmoth to get back to her.

“Ladybug!” She looked down. Alya? She used her yo-yo to descend.

“Hello, Alya right?” she said.

“Yes. I have information for you, look!” Alya fished out a large book from her bag and flipped to a page with a monster black cat illustration.

“This thing represents Touttais, and I think some crazy neopagan worshipers of his have Chat Noir because they think he has something to do with him!” Alya said. Ladybug quickly skimmed the pages and if she didn’t know better, she’d have thought this was an ancient Chat Noir too. 

“Thank you for the help, Alya,” Ladybug said before she moved to leave.

“You need to act fast! Worship of Touttais involves human sacrifice. It’s sort of like druids but not quite, anyway tonight’s the full moon and I think they’re going to sacrifice Chat Noir for this guy!” Alya said. Ladybug felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. 

Sacrifice Chat Noir. Sacrifice _Adrien_. Tonight. 

“Alya, do you know of anyway to get to here,” Ladybug asked showing her the map, “It’s underground below even the tunnel.”

“Tunnel. Oh!” Alya pulled something up on her phone, “There are tons of tunnels under Paris because there used to be mines, they're probably keeping him in one of those!”

“Well, looks like you’re useful after all.”

“You were akumatized again?” Alya said looking up at Volpina.

“I was and because Hawkmoth wants that Miraculous, I have to play nice with Ladybug,” Volpina said.

“Do you know of anyway into the these tunnels?” Ladybug said.

“Try using the catacombs as your entry point, but I don’t know how you’re going to find your way from there,” Alya said.

“I think I have a way. Thanks, Alya.”

————————————————————— ———————————————————

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Volpina asked as they navigated through a narrow dark tunnel. They’d entered through the public access and Ladybug’s yo-yo showed them a side tunnel and thus there they were now, underground following a magical weapon’s guidance system.

“Unless you’re going to help by making light, please keep your complaints to a minimum,” Ladybug snapped. Volpina smirked and floating lights appeared illuminating nothing but dirt and the occasional support beams. There were a few times it looked like a dead-end but Ladybug would look up or down and find a new connection to the next tunnel.

“If this collapses and we die, I blame you,” Volpina said.

“You didn’t have to come with me,” Ladybug said. She saw a pink light.

“Hawkmoth is surprised we figured it out,” Volpina said, “And he said that according to witnesses we’ve been down her nearly two and a half hours and we have only an two and a half hours before your signal runs out.”

“Great,” Ladybug said. She looked up, there was their next connector, “I guess we’d better keep moving.”

————————————————————— ———————————

_Two hours and fifteen minutes later_

They stopped and it was nothing but dead-ends all round them, but Ladybug’s magical map showed that the section to their right should be open. She examined the wall.

“More light please,” Ladybug said. There it was. A door. Someone had altered this. She pressed on it and the tunnel trembled worryingly but held and it opened. She walked through and was surprised at the difference. Someone had been reinforcing and expanding these tunnels. There was also lighting set up via gas-lamps.

“This is creepy,” Volpina said. Ladybug nodded as they continued down the tunnels. This time, they were less worried about being buried alive and more worried about whoever decided to do _this_. There were symbols on the walls here and there and a few murals to Touttais. This was definitely the right tunnel system. Ladybug and Volpina had to duck into an alcove when they heard footsteps. Men and women dressed in strange robes swinging around incense. 

“It’s almost sunset,” Ladybug said to Volpina.

“I guess they’re getting ready for the slaughter,” Volpina said cruelly. Ladybug shot her a dirty look.

“We have only fifteen minutes before my signal is lost,” Ladybug said.

———————————————————————— ——————————————————————

When Adrien opened his eyes this time, it hurt a little less. His wrists were numb. Plagg was still trapped, and now there were people chained around the pit beneath him, face down, so his dignity was preserved slightly. This looked like something out of one of Nino’s games: _Demon Slayer_. Usually this meant human sacrifice. He had to get free and get these people out of here! He saw Plagg, despite not being able to phase through the glass jar was rocking it when the minions weren’t looking. There was some sort of incense in the air that made Adrien sneeze. This drew the attention of a goon.

“He’s wake, my lord!” The leader was now wearing some perversion of druid robes.

“It doesn’t matter. Come! The moon rises!”

“Claws out!” Adrien said which drew Plagg towards him and sent the glass to the ground shattering and the kwami zipped into his ring transforming him and covering him with his signature suit. The cavern was clearer with feline vision and it was nightmarish. He twitched a hand and found he could brush a chain with his fingers. That would do.

“Cataclysm!”he brushed the chain and it spread to the other but it was too late and Chat Noir landed in a pool of blood. 

As he destroyed those chains holding him aloft, acolytes had pulled on the collars of those around the other pits, and the one beneath him revealing there had been blades and fifty people simultaneously had their throats slit open. Chat Nor scrambled out of it, horrified and he could feel some darkness was coming. 

“Claws in.” Plagg spun out leaving a chained Adrien behind.

“Plagg, what is this?” Adrien asked.

“A false god! They’re summoning false gods!” Plagg hissed.

“I can’t get free and I can’t feed you,” Adrien said. Plagg looked around angrily. Adrien heard something bubbling up behind him and a being of shadows came out of the blood.

“Aglareb Er, lye yela lle sinome a' sina yamen' en' edan, yamen' lle poika livien vilya en' me'a e'a sina quenat lye anna ten' lle magha e' sina ai palurin. Lotesse lle Tulien naa vanima!” Adrien turned to see the leader was pointing at him and the being rushed him.

“Plagg, get away!” Adrien said pulling the ring off.

——————————————————————————— —————————————————————

Fingers. Not quite good enough but he could change those. Chains? Annoying. He ripped those from this vessel. Oh, it was used to channeling destruction magic. How perfect. It was also a male. He looked down and saw a black ring but that wasn’t as interesting as the summonings of his brethren including—. Ah, no. He was not going to deal with her, even if they had insulted her by giving her a male host. He leapt across the room and grabbed the throat of the boy. Pity, such strength and potential now to be wasted. He ripped and enjoyed the feel of the blood on these new fingers of his.

These foolish mortals had summoned him. Why? There was one who was the last thing his host saw.

“Why am I here?” he asked.

“We summoned you to purge this world of the unworthy, Great Touttais.”

“You seek to command us?” Touttais sneered.

“We summoned you, we can banish you back!”

“Indeed, but you made a mistake in giving me this gift,” Touutais said flexing a hand and smiling as it shifted and gained the claws he desired, “This vessel is perfect!” A quick motion and the still beating heart of the arrogant summoner was held before his eyes, just in time for him to die. He let his will ripple across the vessel and it changed accordingly, it was taller, more mature. Touttais was slightly surprised that the ears became feline but then again, whenever a body was this intune with Touttais’s own source of power, it adapted in ways he normally had to fight against the body. The tail swishing behind him was also a pleasant bonus. Usually it took years of possession to manifest that. He took a large bite of the heart, his fangs shredding through it. The other summoners were frightened. He smirked. It was time to feed. He heard the other chains snapping. His brothers and sisters wanted to play too. Perfect.

—————————————————————————— ——————————

Ladybug felt sick from the wave of black magic that washed over her and Volpina.

“No!” The icon was gone, though it had been dead ahead. She rushed into the room and had to cover her mouth to muffle her scream. Volpina joined her and looked like she was going to be sick. So many dead. So much blood everywhere. Six forms were vaguely blood spattered but one was dripping with it. Men and women in robes had been dismembered violently. That’s when Ladybug saw a glint in the distance. The Black Cat Miraculous! She ran an leapt over the forms and picked it up slipping it on her finger. She didn’t expect a small black cat to burst out of it. This drew the attention of the blood drenched one. He looked at her and Ladybug screamed in rage. That was Adrien’s face, it looked a little older somehow but she knew. That was her partner.

“He’s possessed,” Plagg said, “He took off the ring to protect me.”

“So, there is a Lady of Creation,” the thing wearing Adrien’s body said.

“Give him back to me!” Ladybug said.

“Him. Oh! So, these fools gave me the Black Cat? No wonder this body is so perfect!” He lunged forwards but Ladybug sent him back with a quick yo-yo flick. She looked up and aimed the string at a stalactite and swung back to the door where Volpina had indeed been sick.

“We need to get out, now!” Ladybug said before she dragged her free and then aimed her yo-yo at the rocks in front of the door causing the cavern to tremble and rocks to block the doorway.

“Snap out of it!” Ladybug said.

“How can you handle seeing all that!” Volpina said.

“I’m not, but I need to get out of here before I lose it,” Ladybug said dragging her along behind her and through the tunnels. She found the exit by simply taking the tunnels that sloped up and caved in the entrance to that with Volpina’s help this time.

“We have to warn people. These things will get out and will kill,” Ladybug said.

“You have both Miraculous,” Volpina said, “Can I now?”

 

Ladybug dodged a grab for both Miraculous she had.

“Oh right, I guess our truce is over. However, if you stop me from finding a way to save Chat Noir, you will regret this, Hawkmoth!” Ladybug said before she took off running. She had to get Paris evacuated ASAP.

———————————————————————————————— —————————

Touttais had to smile. That Lady of Creation had fire. He would look forward to extinguishing that fire. He looked and saw the others hadn’t been able to adapt their forms to their likings beyond clothing.

“These forms were only tainted with enough magic for this. You lucked out into wearing a magic user,” Andraste said as she looked down at her form. A short blonde girl. She’d managed to manifest her preferred leather armor, but nothing else.

“Everyone completely in control?” he asked the others.

“What about you, Touttais?” He noticed his right hand was trying to move on his own.

 **I don’t think so, Adrien. This is my body now**.

 _Ladybug will defeat you_.

**Your Lady of Creation may try, and I will make you watch as she dies if you keep fighting me.**

_I will never stop trying to fight you! This is my body!_

**Not anymore**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> Today will be another double post. So expect chapter 4 shortly. After today, everything should line up with Halloween.
> 
> The title song for Part 1 Chapter 3 is “In the End.” by Linkin Park


	4. Part 2 Chapter 1: If the sky comes falling down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark gods little better than demons force an evacuation of Paris. Ladybug cannot face down 7 false gods alone.
> 
>  
> 
> _Master Fu decides that the spotted heroine could use some back-up_

“Are you trying to tell me demons are possessing the famous missing people?” Andre Bourgeois said.

“I know it sounds insane, but I wouldn’t tell you something like that without reason,” Ladybug said, “This is Plagg. He’s Chat Noir’s Kwami. They’re our partners of sorts.” Plagg floated into view. “He saw this happen.”

“Ladybug’s right. May I have some cheese?” Plagg said. Andre Bourgeois poked at the kwami, encountering a solid floating body who growled at him, before pressing a button,

“Could you bring up some cheese?”

“What kind?”

“Camembert!” Plagg said. The waiter arrived and placed the cheese on the Mayor’s desk and left after being dismissed. Plagg devoured the whole wheel.

“What exactly are you?” he asked.

“Like Ladybug said, I’m a kwami. I’m a millennia old godly being of bad luck and destruction,” Plagg said patting his belly, “I work with Chat Noir.”

“I can’t just order an evacuation without a visible cause, Ladybug. I believe you, but I don’t want to start a pan-.” There was something that made the windows rattle.

“It’s too late, they’ve broken through. Mayor Bourgeois, you need to order an evacuation of Paris now! I’ll hold them back as best I can,” Ladybug said opening the window and swinging away. Chloe burst in moments later.

“Papa! Ladybug was here and you didn’t tell me!”

“Not now. Gather your things, we’re leaving Paris!”

———————————————————————————————— ——————

Ladybug arrived to see nothing but destruction where the demons had emerged. The pit was at least a kilometer wide and it swallowed buildings all around it and from the looks of things, to Ladybug’s despair, there were crushed cars in the rubble.

“You forced our hands, Lady of Creation.” She saw it was the one possessing Adrien.

“Touttais, I presume?” she said flatly.

“I’m touched. You did your research,” he said before he leapt up and joined her on the roof of the building she’d been standing on to survey the damage to the 12th arrondissements. 

“Ah, so you’re the bad luck kwami. I must thank you for conditioning this body so well,” Touttais said. Plagg hissed at him.

“Use me too, Ladybug!” Plagg said.

“How?” Ladybug said leaping away from Touttais who laughed and gave chase.

“Claws Out!”

“Plagg, Claws Out!”The magic washed over her and she nearly fell from the rush of power. It was dizzying. She leapt away farther than she’d ever expected to and saw a confused Touttais behind her. She looked down at her new mismatched hands and pulled a staff off her back. It was a swirl of red and black topped with a yin-yang shaped head piece with the red part having a black dot but the black part having a green dot. She had the powers of creation and destruction at her command and didn’t know how to use it! She led Touttais back to the crater and saw the other minions were missing. No! Then she heard something armored land next to her. It was Dark Blade? No. This armor was white. 

“My lady! I am Hawkmoth’s Champion, White Knight!” It was Mr. D’argencourt but he was not evil.

“Can you summon an army to stop his six friends?” she asked.

“I can form an army of volunteers!” White Knight said.

“Please do so, we need to get Paris evacuated!” she said. She blocked an attack from Touttais and kicked him back as White Knight leapt away. 

“Lady of Fortune needing help? What a pity. Here I thought this would mean you were more formidable!” he said.

“You’ve had that body for two hours at most, I’ve had these powers for a few moments,” Ladybug said. No. Calling herself “Ladybug” while like this didn’t seem right. Without Chat Noir, there was no Ladybug. 

“And it’s Fortuna to you, demon!” she said getting in another good hit, this one sent him deep into the crater.

“You presume the name of a goddess and call me a demon? You’re bold,” Touttais said.

————————————————————— —————————————————

Nathanaëlwas helping his grandmother pack up her house and get out the door. Paris needed to be evacuated. There was some sort of monster even Ladybug couldn’t stop. His parents were downstairs helping others. 

“My neighbor. Mr. Fu. He lives alone. Please, help him,” his grandmother asked.

“Of course,” the redhead said before he helped her down the stairs to the waiting car. He saw the house next-door to the complex his grandmother lived in was also some sort of business. 

“Sir, do you need any help getting out of here?” Nathanaëlasked, entering.

“It’s not safe,” the man said, “You had better join your family. I’m old and I’ve lived my life.”

“No, sir,” Nathanaëlsaid, “Gather whatever you need to and I’ll make room for you with my parents.” the man nodded before he gathered up a few things including an old phonograph. He helped Mr. Fu out the door only to see something headed right for them.

“Dude, duck!” Nathanaëland Mr. Fu were tackled out of the way by Nino.

“Nino, are you alright?” It was Alya. 

“We’re all ok in here,” Nino said helping Mr. Fu up, “Nathanaël , what are you doing here?”

“My grandmother lives next door, and I was helping Mr. Fu,” he said.

“We were covering the evacuation of Paris but one of those demons deiced to head this way,” Alya said. She looked outside and they were trapped. Nathanaëljoined her and called his parents.

“They’re ok. Please, go without me,” he said, “We can get out a different way.” He was terrified but his parents and grandmother needed to get out. He’d daydreamed about being a superhero in the past. Now it was time to try to act like one.

“That was very selfless,” Mr. Fu said.

“Do you have a way out the back?” Nino said.

“Of course,” Mr. Fu said.

———————————————————————————————— —————— 

They saw the old man to his car and watched as he drove away after tucking something into Nino’s hand. It was the bracelet he’d been wearing but now it was green? 

“What’s this?” Alya said finding a box in her purse. Nathanaëllooked into his messenger bag and found the same box. They opened them just as the bracelet glowed and soon three small floating beings were before them.

“I’m Wayzz.” said the green turtle one.

“I’m Vulpii!” said the small red fox one.

“I’m Nambii!” said the small fuzzy bee one.

“You three were chosen by the Guardian to wield Miraculous stones. In this time of crisis, Ladybug will need all the help she can get,” Wayzz said, “You hold the Turtle Miraculous known for Order and Protection, Nino.”

“You, hold the Bee miraculous, Alya, known for Diligence and Rebirth.”

“You hold the Fox Miraculous, known for Illusions and Creativity, Nathanaël . You know, you’re my most adorable chosen yet,” Vulpii said batting her violet eyes at him. He blushed.

“Does Ladybug have someone like you?” Alya asked as she placed the now silver comb in her hair, pinning part of it back. The others slipped on their Miraculous too.

“Her name’s Tikki. Chat Noir’s is called Plagg,” Wayzz said, “Unlike Ladybug and Chat Noir, you three work better alone or with your opposite. Bee has no opposite and the Peacock is inactive and the Butterfly is Hawkmoth,” Wayzz said, “Poor Nooroo.”

“How do we do this?” Alya asked.

“For you, it’s Stripes On,” Nambii said.

“For you it’s Shell Out,” Wayzz said.

“Fangs Bared.” Vulpii demonstrated, though because of her size, it looked adorable.

“Here goes everything. Stripes On!”

“Shell Out!”

“Fangs Bared.” 

 

Nathanaëlwatched as Vulpii was pulled into the necklace turning it back to its foxtail form and the magic washed over him in red-orange light. He blinked when the lights cleared and his eyes felt different. 

“Looking good!” Alya’s costume was streamlined like Ladybug’s with black stripes going up and down her body, but it looked like she had black boots and gloves with a pair of fluttering wings and a top on her hip. He hair had been re-arranged into and updo and it looked golden instead of the two-toned brown-red it had been before. Her mask was a simple yellow and black striped domino mask. Nino wore what looked like a letter vest over a green racing jumpsuit tucked into green boots. His hair was the same, but his mask was a broad strip of green cloth a lot like a certain cartoon team of turtles. On his back was a shell-shaped-shield. Nathanaëllooked down at his costume and it was form fitted too, not spandex, but something similar. It was an autumn tree color versus the bright red-orange of the tail he saw swish into view. His gloves were an orange-brown, tipped with claws. His boots were the same color as the gloves and across his back was a giant paintbrush instead of a flute. It looked a bit like a calligraphy brush. He saw his reflection and his mask was bright red with a white edging and his eyes were slitted like a fox. On his head was a pair of short fox ears, but his wilder, longer hair covered his real ones. He now knew how Chat Noir felt.

“Looking good! Let’s go save Paris!” Alya said before she took off, literally, flying ahead of the two guys who exchanged looks and took off running after her.

—————————————————————————— —————————————————

Alya arrived at the scene of one of the possessed first and saw a man in armor fighting her. She looked closer and it was a possessed Aurore Beauréal. 

“Who are you supposed to be? Buzzkill?” the possess Aurore said.

“Who are you supposed to be? Xena?” Alya said.

“My name is Andraste!” she screamed. 

“I have this fell beast contained, fair maiden. but there are those who also need your help,” the knight said. 

“If you’re sure. By the way, it’s Rumble-Bee!” Alya/Rumble-Bee said before she buzzed off to find someone else to fight. 

——————————————————————— —————————

“Thanks for the save, Ninja Turtle.”

“It’s Hero Turtle, dude!” Nino/Hero Turtle said whenever he came across a possessed dude throwing giant heads at people.

“Who are you, the Horseless Headsman?” Hero Turtle said.

“The name’s Rudianos!” 

————————————————————— —————————————

“Get back here you little rat!” Nathanaël /Red Fox had used his ability of illusion to buy a whole group of people time to escape but now his miraculous was close to powering down. He needed to hide. That looked like Mireille but it wasn’t.

“Watch it, Touttais!”

“Like I can control where I land when the Lady of Fortune sends me into the dirt.” With a beep and a tired Vulpii, it was Nathanaëlwho looked up to see someone he thought was Ladybug but her outfit was way different.

“Two for one?” she said before she changed with a staff no one had ever seen her use before. 

“You’re tiring trying to contain that power, Lady of Fortune. Whereas I’m just getting warmed up!” 

“Fortune’s Favor!” the staff was tossed into the air and the night’s sky was clouded over, blocking the full moon , The staff descend just as a downpour hit. The demons hissed as the water hit their skin. 

“You have merely stopped us for a short time with this purifying rain, Lady of Fortune, but this will not be enough to save this city!” Touttais hissed before he and the other melted into shadows and vanished. 

 

As usual, Ladybug was amazing! She leapt away and Nathanaëlcould have sworn there were tears running down her face along with the rain.

———————————————————————

Alya felt exhilarated whenever she arrived home after she helped evacuate Paris during that rain storm Ladybug had summoned. The rain had yet to let up even after nearly ten hours. Whatever it was, it kept the demons at bay. The TV flickered on and Ladybug in her upgraded form was on the screen.

“Hello, I’m not sure if this is broadcasting. I’ve looked over the internet today and noticed there were new heroes. I thank you. I must ask you too to leave Paris. This fight will be long and dangerous. I will be modifying this storm so that it surrounds the borders of Paris keeping these demons contained within the city limits. Hawkmoth, if you’re listening, make any attempts for my Miraculous and you will only be helping these demons. Think about how you want to be known. To anyone outside of Paris seeing this broadcast, stay clear of this city until I manage to cleanse these monsters from it. I will do what I can as fast as I can. I promise."

Alya knew where the studio was and was out the door with Zambii following her gripping her bottle of honey.

She was not going let her chosen leave without her! It wasn’t safe to go alone. Alya grabbed a bike and zoomed through the city. The storm changed like Ladybug had promised it would, and soon she wasn’t even getting wet.

 

She arrived as the improved-Ladybug exited.

“Ladybug!” she looked over at Alya. Whatever she was going to say died whenever Zambii floated into view.

“Just because Paris is supposed to be deserted doesn’t mean you can have your kwami floating out like that.”

“What’s with the upgrade?” Alya said.

“I’m using Chat Noir’s Miraculous too. Claws in,” the form changed back to regular Ladybug and a black cat floated out looking woozy.

“Cheeessee!” he moaned. 

“You never change. I’m Zambii,” Zambii said shaking her head. 

“Alya, This is dangerous for you and those others. The ladybug and black cat miraculous are—.”

“The two most powerful. Zambii told me,” Alya said. Zambii nodded.

“Hey!” They turned to see Red Fox and Hero Turtle run over to them in the darkened streets.

“We totally kicked everyone out of our sectors,” Hero Turtle said. Ladybug looked him over and massaged the bridge of her nose.

“Nino,” she said.

“How’d you know?”

“Lucky guess,” Ladybug said, “Nothing I can say will get you to leave Paris, will it?”

“Nope. You’re stuck with us, Ladybug!” Alya said. Red Fox grinned. 

“Fine. Follow me,” Ladybug said walking down the road with the others falling in behind her.

“Where are we headed?”

“My house,” Ladybug said, “I normally wouldn’t even think of doing this but we really don’t have a choice in this situation.” 

 

“Oh, Lady of Creation, I’m sure it’s not that bleak.” Ladybug growled and threw her yo-yo at Touttais who was lounging on a roof like Chat Noir had done on occasion. With his graceful dodge, she knew he’d done that just to remind her. Hero Turtle glared at Touttais who casually stretched and struck a pose. Hero Turtle was pissed. He recognized what famous person’s body this particular monster was using.

“Get out of him!” Hero Turtle yelled.

“Oh, another person who wants me to leave this perfect vessel? Lady of Creation have you been coaching them so you can have your Black Cat back? More than one plea, not even from the Lord of Order, will make me give this up!” Touttais.

“Lord of Order?”

“We don’t have time for this, Rumble-Bee,” Ladybug said. 

“Stripes On!” Alya said which caused Nambii to drop the honey. Rumble-Bee stood ready. Ladybug wasn’t pulling any punches. She maneuvered Touttais into a position where she knocked him off the roof into a massive puddle of water. He screamed as he leapt out of it. It was still the blessed rain water.

“You ready, Plagg?” Ladybug asked. The others noticed there was a gourmet cheese shop next to them. Lucky. Oh wait, they were with the heroine **_blessed_** by it. Plagg came out with a chunk in his paws before throwing it in the air and swallowing it.

“Ready.”

“Claws Out!” Her costume changed.

“So now you’re “Fortuna” again. Am I such a threat?” Touttais said.

“You have someone we want, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to get him free!” Fortuna said.

“Well, this seems like a fight I can’t win. Ta!” Touttais turned into shadows and vanished. 

“So, your house?” Rumble-Bee said.

“Let’s collect some of this water just in case,” Hero Turtle said, “That was a gnarly advantage to have.”

“I controlled the storm so that the water flows into Paris, these puddles aren’t drying up anytime soon,” Fortuna said, “Also, it’s part of the Seine now.”

“Sweet!”

“Won’t you end up flooding Paris?”Red Fox asked.

“Possibly, but I have a bad feeling that more of Paris will be destroyed as we take out these demons. We need to get to my house before nightfall.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of today's double update
> 
> The title song of Part 2 Chapter 1 is “Hey Brother” by Avicii.
> 
> Funnily enough, in the second draft of this, I gave Alya the Fox. The reason Nathanael has it and not her in draft three boils down to the fact that I didn't want to give Chloe the Bee.


	5. Part 2 Chapter 2: Didn’t know I was lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Miraculous has formed and Alya, Nino, and Nathanael finally learn who Ladybug has been all along
> 
>  
> 
> _Meanwhile, Adrien and the others possessed are having out of body experiences and meet two beings they'd never expect to encounter._

When they arrived at the abandoned Tom and Sabine Patisserie, there was a series of head slaps was heard behind Ladybug, who’d dropped out of being Fortuna whenever they were within a block. 

“Spots Off,” Ladybug said with a shrug before Marinette pulled her key out of her purse and let everyone in before locking it up behind them.

“All this time, it was you!” Alya said whenever she dropped her transformation. 

“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. Chat Noir- _Adrien_ doesn’t even know,” Marinette said grabbing one of her arms and looking down. Aly placed and hand on her shoulder.

“We’re going to get him back. We’re going to win,” Alya said. Nino, who also detransformed nodded. Marinette was slightly surprised to see Nathanaëlwas Red Fox. 

“What do all of you eat?” Marinette asked the kwamis. 

“I like honey!” Zambii said.

“I’m Vulpii and do you have any pepperoni?”

“I’m Wayzz, and I would like some carrots if you have any?”

“We’re in a patisserie, we have a lot of ingredients, and we just got a huge shipment the other day,” Marinette said leading them into the kitchen.

“Is it ok to do this?” Nathanaëlasked.

“It’s going to go bad if it’s not used,” Marinette said. Tikki had already grabbed a cookie and was nibbling.

“Why did we come here? It’s not just because the food,” Alya said whenever Marinette handed Zambii a small squeeze bottle of honey and found some pre-sliced pepperoni in the fridge and offered some to Vupli. To Wayzz she handed a bag of baby carrots. Plagg had already helped himself to a cheese danish.

“Her house is technically holy ground because I’ve lived with her for so long,” Tikki said after she finished her cookie, “Adrien’s house would be holy ground too because of Plagg.”

“That’s why Master Fu wasn’t concerned about leaving?” Marinette said.

“Yes. But he knew you needed Nino as the Turtle,” Wayzz said, “We’re outnumbered by these demons because we can’t get a Peacock and the Butterfly is Hawkmoth. Your message was to the point. I hope it doesn’t backfire.” 

“Me too. If you guys need stuff from your houses, we’ll have to get them tomorrow,” Marinette said, “You’re not going out without me.”

“Who put you in charge?” Nino asked.

“Show of hands, who here has been a superhero longer than a day?” Marinette said. Nino and the others exchanged looks before laughing.

“Sorry, it’s just still hard to believe we missed this! You’re totally the same with or without the spots!” Anya said, “I mean you’re less nervous with the spots but still!”

“And if you know Adrien beyond having a huge crush on him, you’d know he was a huge dork,” Nino said, “The guy owns all of _Sailor Moon_ and other shoujo animes because he _likes_ them!”

“Adrien is a weeb?” Nathanaëlasked.

“Huge one!” Nino said.

“Let’s get some food started,” Marinette said, “I’ll freak out later, right now I’m running on adrenaline and shock.”

“What about just pigging out on those sweets that are going to go stale if no one eats them?” Nino said.

“That sounds like a good idea, but we’ll end up with stomaches if we eat all that sugar at once. I do know which ones are the oldest so we can start with those and see how we feel,” Marinette said with a shrug, “Maman and Papa already do this with the oldest stuff anyway.”

“Sugar comas, the best way to deal with seeing a friend being possessed!” Alya said, “Next to ice cream.” 

“Can we start with the macaroons?” Nathanaëlasked.

“I like the way you think!” Marinette said, “It’s only…wow it’s six in the morning.”

“Eat now. Sleep later,” Alya said.

————————————————————————————— ——————————

Adrien felt like he was having an out of body experience, which was not totally a bad thing because he wasn’t seeing what horrific thing Touttais was doing using his hands. It was some weird shadowy place. He looked down and he was transformed into Chat Noir. Definitely dreaming or something. He touched his face but found no mask.

“You’re Chat Noir?” he turned to see it was Aurore. She was dressed in her signature blue dress. Next to her was Mireille in red, and Deidre in white. The guys he vaguely recognized because he’d fought them all as akumas. Right Nino had complained about Alya’s crazy theory. It didn’t seem crazy now.

“You were possessed too? Great!” It was one of the guys. The pop star. Raphael. 

“Ladybug has my Miraculous,” Adrien said wiggling a ring free hand, “I think we’re just somehow in some sort of limbo because we’re all part of the “possession club.””

“That’s half-correct. You’re in what could be called the Shadow World.” The seven disembodied teens turned to see a woman dressed in a red gown with black hair piled on her head looking vaguely like a more European Marinette, appeared. 

“Who are you, exactly?” It was the dancer, Marcel, who said this.

“I’m Brigid. Touttais’s opposite number. I was half summoned, and incorrectly I might add, by those morons who summoned Touttais and the others to the mortal world. That’s why I’m currently here. I haven’t left yet because he got a hold of the worst thing he could have. The Black Cat.” 

“Because I channel Plagg’s magic and he can use more magic with my body?” Adrien said.

“That’s only half of it. The other half is after a while, Miraculous users begin to change after repeated use of the magic. I’m sure you’ve noticed some things, like enhanced speed, strength, and even better night vision as your human self, along with some other feline traits,” Brigid said. Adrien nodded. He was _not_ admitting to the yarn incident in front of witnesses. He was lucky only Plagg witnessed that humiliation. 

“You were all selected because of the lingering magic from being possessed by the man misusing the Butterfly Miraculous. Why they went for famous people is beyond me, but I think it was a shock factor. Your Lady of Creation evacuated the city and used her magic to create a blessed rain to pin them inside the city limits,” Brigid said.

“What can we do to help?” Adrien asked.

“You cannot do much, Black Cat. The others, however I can help them retake their bodies, but it will be dangerous and require a sacrifice. I don’t know what it will be ahead of time, but these dark entities will not be driven out easily. The Lady of Creation can purge them from you, but she is new to being a Lady of Fortune. Black Cat, Touttais’s grip on you is far too tight. I can only give you a blessing to keep him from devouring your soul.” Brigid walked over to Adrien and gently placed a kiss on his forehead. “The Lady of Fortune will need to defeat these other demons before you even have a chance at fighting to expel Touttais from your body. Even then, there will be lasting effects from hosting a being like that for any length of time. Effects not even the powers of Creation and Destruction in tandem can undo.”

“What kind of goddess are you if you can’t save us?” Everyone turned to see it was Jean-Louis. “I recognize you from a project I did on Celtic mythology. You’re supposed to be a goddess of spring and rebirth.”

“I am, and creativity. I’m not a creation goddess or a fortune goddess,” she said.

“Then why do you vaguely look like our current Ladybug?” Deidre asked.

“Because, I’m connecting to all of you through the current Chat Noir, whose view of most things good is affected by Ladybug,” Brigid said.

“Can you communicate with her?” Adrien asked.

“I can try,” Brigid.

“Help her,” Adrien pleaded.

“There is something, but I need your help. Years ago, another Miraculous Wielder was banished to this world as she was dealing with a monster from here.” Brigid said.

“There’s another Miraculous user in this world?” Adrien said.

“Yes. Touttais’s emergence knocked her back into the deeper parts of the ether. It’s already a dangerous place for me because I’m not a war goddess, but you’re a Miraculous touched soul, you’ll look extra appealing,” Brigid said. 

“What about the rest of us?” Raphael said.

“Patience,” Brigid said, “You are not ready to face your own personal demons, let alone the dark gods wearing your flesh.”

“Gods?”

“The ones who kidnapped you summoned lesser gods because they were foolish. Fortunately, with the tainted summoning method, these dark gods cannot violate holy ground or the sacred rain the Lady of Fortune created,” Brigid said. 

“Where is this woman?” Adrien asked.

“The Peacock is hard to get to, and the longer you are possessed, the worse things will be afterwards,” Brigid said.

“If we go with you and Chat Noir on this quest, will it help us to be ready to take our own bodies back?” Aurore asked.

“Yes. That would be the nature of quests,” Brigid said, “One misstep and it will cost you your life and your souls.”

“I’m staying here, thanks,” Marcel said crossing his arms. Raphael shrugged before he stood next to Adrien. Mireille and Aurore stepped behind him, and the Deidre stepped up. Jena-Louis looked at Marcel,

“Is it even safe here?” he asked.

“No,” Brigid said, “The monsters won’t attack groups while we’re in the upper ether of the shadows, but lone souls are perfect prey.”

“I’m staying here with him,” Jean-Louis said. Mireille and Aurore whispered and Mireille joined them.

“When I was an akuma, I was Storm Warning,” she said, “I think here we can use those powers and they’re more effective than the powers you two had.” 

“She is correct. You have lessened powers of your possessed forms like this,” Brigid said, “Though, the Black Cat here has his full powers because he is a Miraculous Wielder. We must hurry before anything else tries to claw its way into the living world.”

————————————————————————————— ——————————————

Marinette slept fitfully and woke upto a light rain pelting her windows. She rolled over and blinked at the bee in front of her face. Everything came rushing back. Adrien. The demons. The evacuation of Paris. The late night/early morning fights and crashing at seven in the morning. Alya was sprawled on her chaise. Downstairs she knew Nino and Nathanaëlwere sleeping in her living room with their kwamis. That still sounded weird. She had a team whenever all she wanted was her partner back. Nope. No time to dwell. She needed to get to work on getting rid of those demons, somehow.There was a knocking coming from downstairs and she froze. Every civilian should have been out of Paris. She saw Alya was up and looked just as alarmed. 

“Spots On,” Marinette said before she leapt out of her roof and landed on the balcony looking down. It was, Gabriel Agreste and Adrien’s driver/bodyguard. He seemed too confident in the middle of an abandoned city. Ladybug silently leapt forwards and used a nearby telephone pole to help her descend and land silently behind Gabriel Agreste. 

“Mr. Agreste, you should have evacuated Paris,” she said firmly.

“So should you, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng,” Gabriel said turning to face her, “Before you try to lie, early this morning there was only one other building with lights on. Yours.” Plagg, who had grabbed onto a pigtail before she’d leapt out, floated over to Gariel and looked 10000% done. The kwami of bad luck and destruction didn’t have time for this.

 

“Let Nooroo out of your pocket before he suffocates.” Gabriel stared at the black kwami who shrugged before he dove into Gabriel’s jacket and came out with a pink-purple butterfly kwami in tow. Ladybug face palmed. How was this her life? Her crush was her partner and his father was their arch-enemy. No wonder the man didn’t even look worried! She would deal with the magnitude of _this_ bullshit later.

“Would you like to come inside, Mr. Agreste or should I call you **_Hawkmoth_**?” Ladybug said.

“Mr. Agreste is fine,” Gabriel Agreste said, “I presume those other children are inside too?”

“Actually they’re right behind you.” It was Rumble-Bee who’d spoken but Hero Turtle and Red Fox were flanking her. “It’s way too early to be dealing with this.”

“It’s noon,” Ladybug said, “What do you want, **_Mr. Agreste_**?”

“Something that can help both of use,” he said pulling out a blue stone.

“Herra’s chosen was your wife?” Plagg said, “Talk about a small world.”

“Chosen? That’s a Miraculous, isn’t it?” Ladybug said, “And with Plagg, I’m the most powerful—this is why you wanted both the Black Cat and Ladybug miraculousness, isn’t it? To bring her back?”

“Yes. What better way to draw out superheroes than to send out super villains,” Gabriel said. 

“If this weren’t so messed up, I would explain to you exactly why that logic doesn’t work,” Rumble-Bee said, “But let’s take this inside before this gathering of Miraculous draws a demon.” 

 

Taking it inside didn’t make it any less awkward to have the man who was the true identity of Hawkmoth as he explained his “tragic origin story.” The fact the others hadn’t even bothered powering down was another clue to how much this was **not** a comfortable experience. 

“You want me to tap into the powers of Creation and Destruction, Powers I’m still not sure how to use together aside from doing the impossible with that storm ringing the city, and bring your missing and possible dead wife here because she’s the Miraculous Peacock, and her powers are tailored to purification in the spiritual sense,” Ladybug said.

“It’s all about will power,” Plagg piped up, “And concentration. Something you don’t seem to have a lot of.”

“Plagg!” Rumble-Bee looked ready to bop the little kwami on the head.

“It’s the truth,” Plagg mumbled, “But if the lady’s dead, it’ll be really draining on Tikki and I and the longer Touttais possesses Adrien, the worse he’ll be when this is all over.” 

“She’s not,” Gabriel insisted. Plagg shrugged, 

“It’s up to you, Marinette, but this isn’t something to do unless you really want to. Like eating a really fine cheese!” 

“I should have known you were at the house,” Nooroo said, “All that cheese vanishing all the time is usually a sign of Plagg plaguing someone.”

“And I suppose that the fact the Agrestes are probably going through those nasty strawberries by the bushel isn’t your fault?” Plagg said.

“Boys!” Ladybug said she looked Gabriel Agreste in the eyes, “ **If** I agree to do this, no more akumas and no more abusing that Miraculous, and once this is over you apologize to Master Fu. Do we have a deal?” she held out a hand.

“And Adrien gets to have birthday parties in the future!” Hero Turtle said. The others rolled their eyes.

“You’re that boy who became the Bubbler,” Gabriel Agreste said. 

“ **Do we have a deal**?” Ladybug said. Gabriel looked her in the eyes and shook her hand.

“Plagg, Claws Out!” Fortuna stood in the bakery and closed her eyes gripping her staff as she felt her power coursing through her. This could be addictive and this could be bad. She focused on a picture of Adrien’s mother. 

_I need her to be here. I need her to be here._ She tossed her staff into the air.

“Fortune’s Favor!”

————————————————————————— —————————————————

In the Shadow World, Adrien and the others felt the ether around them tremble. 

“A breach between the worlds in forming,” Brigid said, “None of you are able to exit it but if we’re not careful, I might get sucked out into it—Shadow Beast!” Adrien turned and slashed another creature down with his claws. These things looked vaguely like Hell-hounds but also like reptiles. Their shapes were amorphous. Aurore was leading with her umbrella, shooting lightning from it. Her only power she had left from her time as Stormy Weather. Another popped up.

“Deidre!” Adrien said. She nodded before she aimed her hand at it. It began to slip and fall. Aurore turned and zapped it, turning it back to shadows. The world shook around them, pitching and rolling sending them all on their butts. A glowing portal had opened. Monsters were rushing it but a fluttering was heard before a great surge of air sent the monsters back into the depths. It was a blue bird-woman. The bird-woman had blonde hair and bright green avian eyes. However, Adrien knew that face.

“Mother?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title song for Part 2 Chapter 2 is “Wake Me Up” by Avicii
> 
> So, I may happen to like Avicii.......


	6. Part 2 Chapter 3: I believe the world is burning to the ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mother and Son are reunited, though at an inopportune moment.
> 
> Team Miraculous rallies after revelations and restorations to start taking on the threat facing Paris.

The bird woman stiffened before she saw her son. She flew over and hugged him tightly.

“Adrien! How did you end up here?”

“It’s a long story,” Adrien said. She let go and looked at him.

“The Black Cat Miraculous? I’m surprised you weren’t picked for the Bee with how hard you’ve always worked,” Adrien’s mother said, “Though if you’re the Black Cat, that means there’s a Ladybug. Is something catastrophic happening?”

“No time, I’m Brigid. Goddess and part-time tour guide of the Shadow World. We’re here to get you out, though that seems to be Creation magic making that portal,” Brigid said, “Your Lady of Fortune is the cause of this. New Plan. We keep other uglies from exiting this portal so your mother can get back to help her. Lady of Truth, I’d explain things but we there are more pressing matters. You need to get through that portal.”

“Not without the children,” she said, “I’m not a coward, and I will not leave these children behind.”

“We can’t go out that way,” Aurore said, “We’re not actually fully banished here. We’re souls.”

“Dark gods are using our bodies, Madame Agreste,” Deidre said. Adrien felt his heart clench whenever his mother realized what Deidre and Aurore meant.

“I promise I’ll set you all free,” she said fiercely, “And whatever foul presence is in you, will regret the day he ever dared.” She hugged her son goodby once more and turned to the portal. The others went as close as they could before they turned around.

“Good luck,” Brigid said, “And tell the Lady of Fortune that she’s only limited by her imagination and she needs to trust herself. Go!” 

————————— ————— ———————— ———————

Madeleine Agreste hated herself with every step she took away from her baby, but she knew there was no taking souls out of this world. Her form was only so resilient because she was also a body. She heard a roar an looked back to see a massive monster charging her son. She almost ran back, but with a shout of “Cataclysm” the monster exploded into particles of darkness. To think, her son was the Black Cat. Madeleine focused and fought against the energy pouring out from the portal. Even three short years had made her more more attuned with this Shadow World than she’d have liked. She found harder flapping her wings and passed through the glowing boundaries of the barrier. She slammed into someone solid. It was time to rest.

———— ———— ——— ———— ———

Adrien felt the air stop and the light vanished. The portal was shut.

“We need to get back up to the others. This portal disturbed the ether on all levels!” Brigid said The others made their way back using their magic indiscriminately. Adrien in particularly taking out massive amounts of enemies with his cataclysm. In this world, it was a multiple use attack and he was going to use it to help the others as best he could. They arrived back to see Mireille was fighting back waves of monsters. Marcel was dancing and kicking monsters left and right. Jean-Louis had summoned his sword of social justice and was doing a fair amount of damage. 

“Everyone bunch together,” Adrien said before he slammed his hands down with another cataclysm. The move spread _around_ his fellow possessed and only took out the monsters.

“Your powers here are seriously unfair,” Raphael said as he waved a hand and a sonic wave sent monsters flying.

“It’s my powers that also make it nearly impossible to free me,” Adrien said, “Plagg’s magic is too much like the guy possessing me and that’s why it’s nearly impossible to get him out.”

“Plagg?” Aurore asked.

“His kwami. The proper term is Quantic Kami. They’re a set of seven gods with powers over Creation Destruction, Fortune, Rebirth, Protection, Diligence, Illusions, Order, Chaos, Purity, and Truth,” Brigid said, “They are powerful but bound to their gems. If a terrible person had gotten the Black Cat, then they would abuse the powers of the ring and the other Miraculous would have to be used to correct this abuse. Like how the Black Cat and Ladybug were called to prevent further abuse of the Butterfly’s powers.”

“Are we ready to fight for our bodies yet?” Marcel asked.

“Mostly. You now know that you have power like this. What you also need to learn are your limits.”

————————————————————— ———————————————————————— 

Fortuna dropped to her knees winded. On the floor next to her was a blonde woman who’d flattened Gabriel Agreste upon falling out of a glowing portal. Though he wasn’t knocked out, he didn’t seem to be trying to get her off. That would mean that she’d successfully summoned Madame Agreste back. She released both Miraculous transformations and sat on the floor, 

“We did it.” Tikki said before she floated off to find another cookie. Plaggnot far behind her aiming for another cheese danish. Marinette felt better and stood up before she and the others left the Agreste’s alone to eat brunch. 

————————— ———————— ——————————

Madeleine’s last few memories were scrambled but she remembered three things. The portal. Green cat eyes. The message for the Ladybug. She opened her eyes into gray fabric. The fine weave and the familiar scent let her know before she lifted her head off the chest and she looked into silver-blue eyes staring at her like she might vanish into thin air should he look away for but a moment. 

“Gabriel,” she said before she hugged him. He awkwardly returned the hug, but he’d never been good at affection. Three years. They got up and she was confused. Why were they in some patisserie? Gabriel placed her broach in her hand and she smiled as it glowed and became a silver flower shape as Herra appeared in a ball of blue light. The little peacock kwami saw her and began crying sparkling tears of joy before she burried her face in Madeleine’s shoulder.

“How did you get me out?” she asked.

“I made a deal with the young lady who had the power,” Gabriel said. She caught sight of something and frowned whenever she saw there were other kwami in the area aside from the expected ladybug kwami who was eating another sweet and the black cat, who was happily munching on a cheese danish. Something about the black cat tugged at her memories but the portal scrambled them. 

“I need to give her a message I got while on the other side,” Madeleine said.

“How did it happen?” Gabriel asked. Madeleine knew what “it” he was talking about.

“I was careless one night. A creature I was purifying/sending back to where it belonged managed to drag me with it, knocking my miraculous off in the process,” Madeleine said.

“Hello!” Madeleine looked down to see a Bee kwami floating next to her. She had bright blue eyes and was adorable. The fox next to her had large purple eyes, and was equally cute.

“The kids want to know if you two are hungry,” the fox said.

“I could eat, I also need to thank the young lady who freed me,” Madeleine said. 

“Follow me!” the red kwami said zipping over. The black cat seemed to follow grudgingly and he still was gobbling up his food.

 

The kitchen up the stairs they were led to was small but felt lived in, especially with the four teenagers eating in there and seeming to have a good time, off to the side in the attached living area sat the large bodyguard drinking tea and eating a croissant. The teens stopped when the adults and the kwami entered. Sixth and Seventh kwamis zipped into view. Butterfly and a Turtle. All seven Miraculous were in use. Something big had happened.

“The girl you want is Marinette.” the red one pointed to the black haired girl. 

“I understand I have you to thank for my return,” Madeleine said.

“It was no big deal, Madame Agreste,” Marinette said blinking her bright blue eyes.

“Madeleine. I insist you call me Madeleine,” Madeleine said. Marinette smiled, 

“You seemed to have met Tikki, Plagg, Nambii, and Vulpii already.” Marinette helpfully pointed to the red one, back cat, bee, and fox as she said their names.

“I’m Wayzz,” the turtle said.

“I’m Nooroo. It’s good to finally meet you,” Nooroo said with a bow.

“Finally meet—Since when did you wear a broach, Gabriel?” Madeleine said before she pieced it together, “You have the Butterfly. What’s going on that all seven are in use? Where is the Black Cat’s wielder?”

“He’s been possessed by a dark entity known as Touttais,” Gabriel said. Madeleine grabbed her head as scrambled memories came to the forefront.

“Adrien!” she gasped.

“How did you know?” Marinette said,

“I was in a place called the Shadow World. While there, I ran into a woman who claimed to be a goddess Brigid. With her were four children. One of them was Adrien. They explained they were only partly banished because dark gods had possessed their bodies. They couldn’t come through the portal with me because they weren’t physical forms,” Madeleine said.

“I’m going it kill that pretender!” Plagg hissed.

“Plagg, calm down. Getting mad won’t help Adrien,” Tikki said.

“That monster banished his soul to the Shadow World!”

“And we’ll be returning the favor whenever we help Marinette purge it,” Tikki said grabbing Plagg by his shoulder.

“Shadow World?”

“It’s a realm that is a cross between Hell and Purgatory,” Madeleine said, “Miraculous Users have a slight advantage there since the realm sees our transformed states as our true ones even without our stones.”

“That’s a relief, sort of,” Nino said.

“There are creatures in that world that eat souls,” Plagg hissed.

“Not cool,” Nino said. 

 

“Brigid had a message for you, Marinette. Rather, a message for the one wielding the Ladybug Miraculous. She said your only limit is your imagination and you need to trust yourself,” Madeleine said.

“My imagination and handling all the power that comes with it,” Marinette said, “It’s exhausting to use the two together as Fortuna because if I lose control things could end up worse or something I think is better which may not be better for—.” Alya stopped the babbling with a macaroon.

“Breath. You can do this,” Alya said.

“Though, now that we have all seven here, you can split into your pairs,” Wayzz said, “Truth with Illusions, Order with Chaos and while Diligence has no opposite, she could work fairly well with Fortune.” Gabriel looked less than pleased that he was being split from his wife and paired with a boy for whom he already had mild distaste. 

“I’m not happy about it either. This is for Adrien,” Nino said. Nathanaëlseemed to be intimidated by the more experienced Miraculous Wielder with the way he shrank away from her.

“So, what’s the plan?” Alya asked.

“We need to patrol Paris and try to either capture or purify the demons. Only one team is lacking a purifier,” Madeleine said, “Wayzz would it be detrimental if we split Order and Chaos between the other two teams making it two groups of three so that we minimize losing any miraculous users?”

“If Gabriel designates a purifying champion, Order and Chaos could still work together,” Wayzz said tapping his chin.

“We can’t guarantee that the only non miraculous user here would become that sort of champion,” Nooroo said, “Though, it’s higher than usual. Calling Champions is also slightly different than akumatizing someone.”

—————————————————————— ———————————————

“Everyone ready?” Marinette asked once brunch was finished. She received nods from everyone including the bodyguard, whose name she found out was “George.”

“Spots On, Claws Out!”

“Stripes On!”

“Shell Out!”

“Fangs Bared!”

“Dark Wings Rise!”

“Fan Out!”

 

Seven lights vanished into seven gems and six heroes stood in the Dupain-Cheng living/dining area. Peacock wore a skin tight suit with a cape of feathers for her wings and a skirt like part was her tail. On her chest was the Peacock broach. Her mask was made of blue peacock feathers and behind the mask her eyes were avian. Her hair was swept up into a messy pile with feathers woven into it. When she moved it was revealed the cape was split down the back and strapped between her shoulder blades was her weapon: a massive peacock feather fan. The others were staring at her and also looked at Hawkmoth who stood next to her. He pulled a white butterfly out of his coat pocket and it turned bright purple this time.

“George, I declare you my champion, Paladin!” Hawkmoth said as the butterfly flew to George and landed on his handkerchief. He transformed in purple light and was covered head to toe in heavy plate armor with a butterfly insignia in light purple on his breastplate.

“I guess we can split up into three teams after all,” Fortuna said. She finally got a good look at her combined form and it was interesting. Split down the middle with a swirl like a yin yang, her right side was red, her left was black, but the gloves were opposites. He boots matched though. She had boots in this form. Her hair ribbons matched her gloves and her mask was top red, black bottom with the same style yin yang between her eyes as the head of her staff. 

“Try to get back here by sunset. If not, I think any holy ground will do, right?” Fortuna asked Peacock.

“Mostly. Churches, Mosques, Synagogues, Temples, this bakery, Master Fu’s shop/house, and our Mansion are definitely safe. Places dedicated to newer religions or dark religions like Satanism aren’t going to work as well,” Peacock said, “If only you three had gotten your stones sooner, then your homes would also be safe.”

“We haven’t been home yet,” Rumble-Bee said, “Don’t even think of blaming yourself, girl.” Fortuna snapped her mouth shut.

“Ok, we have around five and half hours until sundown. Only take on one of these dark gods. If more show up, disengage and try again another time. If they try to stay together, then we’ll figure out what to do another time.”

“If they stick together, we’ll just have to tempt them to pull apart,” Peacock said, “Of the six of us, two of us are known purifiers and therefore their worst nightmares.”

“No.” Hawkmoth and Rumble-Bee said at the same time.

“It’s true though,” Fortuna said, “For now, let’s go kick some demon butt!”

———————————————————————————— ——————————————

“Good, you’ve found your limits perfectly,” Brigid said overlooking the panting group of souls.

“Why do you seem so diminished here?” Adrien asked once he recovered his breath, far more quickly than the others.

“I wasn’t summoned correctly and then the incorrect summoning was cut off,” Brigid said, “I’m trapped until all the dark gods are sent whence they came because their successful, if mostly improper method of being summoned, is keeping me trapped here. These false druids only performed one of the summonings correctly: Touttais’s. He is more powerful because of all the corrupted power he he drew from the wrong summonings.”

“That’s why I can’t kick him out or even help kick him out of my body,” Adrien said.

“Yes. The others, however are ready. We must wait and see whose body engages with a purifier first before I can guide them through the labyrinth back to their body,” Brigid said waving a hand and the mists around them cleared revealing what looked like a stone wall.

“You said nothing about a labyrinth,” Marcel complained.

“You never asked exactly what I meant when it came to reclaiming your bodies,” Brigid said.

“Could the others summon you correctly?” Adrien asked.

“The Lady of Fortune could, but I’d rather she not. I’m where I need to be,” Brigid said.

“If you’re guiding us through the maze, who will be out here protecting the others?” Raphael said.

“Me,” Adrien said.

“What if more than one of our bodies is being engaged by a purifier?” Mireille asked.

“I’m a goddess. I’m not limited by one form,” Brigid said before she split into three. The one looked like she was wearing red scrubs and the other was wearing a red thick work-jumpsuit, welder’s gloves, a welder’s apron, and a welder’s helmet, with the face shield flipped up.

“My other forms. Brigid the Healer and Brigid the Smith-mistress,” the first Brigid said. 

“Why only two more of you?” Aurore said.

“Because only three could be purified at once,” Adrien said.

“Correct. The Peacock and the Ladybug are the purifiers. With the Lady of Creation currently acting as the Lady of Fortune, this doesn’t change. The Lord of Chaos can call champions and if he calls the right one, that Champion can purify for him. Thus three at most.” Brigid shivered. “Aurore, Jean-Louis, and Mireille. Your bodies are fighting purifiers.”

———————————————————————————— ——————————————

Touttais studied the cloud and rain barrier keeping him and his fellow gods pinned within Paris. It was truly remarkable for a mortal wielding magic to have created. He heard an echoed call. Funny, that sounded like a peacock. He turned and saw Rudianos was facing two heroes. That Red Fox who’d tried to take on Nemain and a woman in a blue peacock themed costume. Another Miraculous User? 

“Red Fox, Jump!” she yelled. The Fox boy listened and leapt over the giant heads Rudianos was summoning and through at them.

“Use your brush on my signal!”

“Yes, ma’am!” 

“Now!” Red Fox slashed the brush at Radian and ink floated out becoming illusions confusing the other before the Peacock landed behind him and drew the massive fan off her back. It was easily half her size. She unfurled it and it began to glow with light that hurt—A purifier! He leapt at her only to be intercepted by the Fox’s brush being slammed into his stomach.

“You’re not stopping her from doing this!” Red Fox growled.

“So, you think you can stop me?” Touttais snarled.

———————————————————————— ————————

_Brigid the Healer lead Jean-Louis through the twists and turns of the labyrinth._

_“Along the way, you will face your own fears and insecurities. This is the work of Rudianos trying to keep you from getting your body back. I cannot defeat these obstacles for you,” she said. She stopped whenever they reached a large room and Jean-Louis sweated a little._

_“I’m not a big fan of crowds,” he said._

_“That’s only the first one, there will be worse fears to come,” Brigid said._

————————————————————————— ——————

Red Fox slammed into a building just as Peacock finished the purification rite. 

“Evil Spirit, be gone!” she yelled as she slammed her fan forwards sending white light through Rudianos’s possessed form.

“Peacock, behind you!” She twirled and blocked the attack of Touttais. Seeing him wearing a face like hers but unlike hers nearly drove her to tears but she had a mission to do. She forced him back and through a few buildings. Oops. She hoped they had insurance. She also hoped she hadn’t just killed her own son. He reappears with a snarl on his face.

“You smell like this vessel. The age you appear, you’re his mother, aren’t you?” Touttais sneered, “You abandoned your child.”

“I was taken from him. There’s a difference. It was whenever I was putting a creature like **you** in their place,” Peacock said.

“You have a choice. Heal the Fox child or purify me. What will it be?” Touttais taunted.

“Purifying you would be a great pleasure,” Peacock said before she settled for bashing him into the rain bank and rushed over to the two unconscious forms flying hard to the Agreste mansion and rushing through the doors before slamming them shut.

“Healing Light!” she said touching her broach and shining it over Red Fox. His injuries vanished and he sat up rubbing his head.

“Did we win?” he asked.

“We won’t know until he wakes up. For now, let Vulpii rest. We’re on safe ground.”

————————————————————————— ———————————

_“All you’d have to do is let me stay. I could crush those vile thieves under my foot,” Rudianos said. He was a red humanoid with heads handing off his belt towering over Jean-Louis, “I’d even let you do it yourself with my power.” The blank space around them changed to the Grand Paris Hotel and tied up were Chloe and Andre Bourgeois. Brigid had vanished. Right he had to do this himself. It would be so easy though! He raised a foot before he remembered the kind words Ladybug had for him afterwards and the video Chat Noir made with him. So what if this bratty girl got the title he wanted, he ended up better off for it! He looked up and shook his head no. A white light burst through the maze and before he lost consciousness he saw Brigid the Healer nodding. For a brief second he even saw the peacock lady standing before him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I named Madeleine Agreste after Madeleine Vionnet, taking my cue from the fact Gabriel is named after Coco Channel.
> 
> Part 2 Chapter 3's title song is "How Far We've Come" by Matchbox 20


	7. Part 2 Chapter 4: Raise my flag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Miraculous continues to press their advantage against the dark gods, and some things aren't quite what they seem.
> 
>  
> 
> _The world outside of Paris is curious as to what is happening within the city of lights._

_Brigid the Smith-Mistress was leading Aurore though the maze. Her insecurities had been defeated one by one but now she and Aurore were facing he final obstacle: Aurore herself as Stormy Weather._

_“Do you really want to give up all this power? You like being able to use your powers for good. You like having powers. Why don’t you just stay like this. You don’t have to go back to just being Mireille’s friend who was second best. Stay, and I can keep you powerful.”_

_“You’re not me. Not now. Not ever!” Aurore said aiming her umbrella at the corrupted image which flickered to reveal a woman with red hair standing before her._

_“I’m not letting go of this body without a fight. Can you take on a goddess, little girl?” the woman asked._

_“I’m not afraid of you, whoever you are. I’m going to get my body back!” Aurore said before she ran forwards_

———————————————————————— —————————————————————————

Touttais dragged himself out of the rain bank. He had no choice but to go back into Paris. He had a bird to fry.He saw that Rudianos’s vessel was gone. The bird probably took it with her and that Fox before she retreated. He heard shouting and yells so he was drawn towards the sounds. Ah. Nemain. She was as reckless as ever, charging at her enemies in a blind fury. Her enemies appeared to be the Turtle and oh, so the Butterfly was out and about in person. With a fluttering sound the Butterfly reappeared in front of him. The man’s silver blue eyes narrowed from behind his silver cowl. No words followed.

“Lord of Chaos. I’m surprised to see that there was contention between the ranks with your Lady of Fortune’s broadcast, but the memories of my vessel indicate you’ve been using those powers of yours for evil until now. Why help her now? Stand aside and I can take her down and you can take her miraculous stones.” The cane was held like a sword and Touttais shrugged. He created a sword out of darkness.

“Your powers are to empower others, what special trick could you possibly have on your own!” Touttais taunted. This would be villain struck out with his cane starting the fight. His cold fury startled Touttais at first, but a wicked smirk soon bloomed. **This was more like it!**

——————— ————————— ——————

Jean-Louis opened his eyes to see a pair of green avian eyes framed by a blue peacock styled mask staring down at him with a pair of turquoise eyes that had slitted pupils framed by a red-orange mask. Flashes of a battle came back to him. The Fox guy sending illusions, the Peacock woman sending light at him, through him. The Peacock lady. He was sure he was supposed to remember more about her, but he couldn’t. 

“What’s the last thing you remember?” She asked.

“Flashes of a fight against you two, whoever you two are,” Jean-Louis said as he sat up. He was in a really nice house wearing a set of gaudy pajamas. 

“I’m Red Fox,” the Fox boy said.

“I’m the Miraculous Peacock,” the Peacock woman said, “Just call me Peacock. Can you remember anything before the battle?”

“I was kidnapped by these weirdoes, and they made me wear some skirt, and chained me over a pit they—.” he was unable to speak as he remembered the blood. There had been so much blood.

“After, there was this mist and I have hazy memories until now,” Jean-Louis said.

“You were possessed by a dark god and I exorcized it from your body. There are six others still possessed,” Peacock said, “Red Fox and I will get you out of Paris, but we also have to save the others if we encounter them.”

“Aren’t there any safe places you could leave me at instead?” Jean-Louis said, “I don’t want to stop you from saving the city.”

“Right now, saving you and the others is saving Paris,” Peacock said.

“Where are we anyway?” Jean-Louis said.

“I know the family that lives here,” Red Fox said.

“I do too,” Peacock said, “The pajamas were bought as a present for the husband as a joke and he never wore them, so no one will be missing those.”

“I could go home.” The two Miraculous heroes exchanged looks.

“Paris has been evacuated,” Red Fox said. 

“Oh.”

——————————— ———————————— ————

Adrien gasped as he felt like he had been covered in fire. Brigid the Healer appeared.

“Jean-Louis has reclaimed his body,” she said.

“What’s wrong with him?” Deidre asked.

“His body took a hit that Touttais could feel,” Brigid the Healer said placing a soothing hand on Adrien’s shoulder. 

“Do you have any idea how the others are doing?” Marcel asked.

“I cannot say—Marcel. Come with me. Segomo, the one wearing your body, has taken on the Peacock in retaliation for her taking down Rudianos,”Brigid the Healer grabbed his arm and led him into the labyrinth. Adrien stood and barely blocked a shadow beast’s attack on Deidre. Raphael stood and held his fists up ready to fight.

“Do we have to wait for her, or could we just do this ourselves?” he asked.

“Something tells me if you tried it, you would end up lost forever,” Adrien said.

“Never mind,” he said. 

“Your mother is awesome,” Deidre said. 

“Thanks I think,” Adrien said. 

——————————— ————————————————

_Through her tears Aurore saw the woman coming for her. She needed to win.Her loss against Mireille flashed to mind. No. That was different. She was different. She brought her umbrella up just in time to block another strike from the woman and then she pressed the attack and sent the woman across the way from her._

_“You really would give up power to be yourself?” she said wiping blood from her chin, “The ability to be forever young.”_

_“But that means forever here, that’s not something I want!” Aurore said, “I’ve gotten past this and I won’t let it rule my future!”_

——————————————————————————— —————

Fortuna and Rumble-Bee jumped back from the possessed Aurore and she shrieked charging at them and drawing weapons from the air.

“Rumble-Bee, let’s tie this up!” Fortuna said. Rumble-Bee nodded before she pulled her top off her hip and threw it, the string lengthening and glowing golden as it spun and made its way around the blonde’s feet.

“You dare do this to me!” she snarled.The rope tangled her up and sent her down to the ground. 

“Do it, girl!” Rumble-Bee said. Fortuna focused. She wanted to purify this dark goddess. She had to trust herself. The magic would help her. So when she twirled the staff around lighting up the head piece she suddenly knew the incantation she needed.

_“Fortuna Huiusce Diei_!” She pointed her staff at the tied up form and bright light, brilliant like the dawn shoot forward and there was and agonized yell, it died down and Aurore fell face forwards once the light cleared.

“Uh-oh. We need to get a top for her,” Rumble-Bee said noticing the bare back. Fortuna looked around and because she was the embodiment of luck, they weren’t too far from a secondhand store. She grabbed a loose dress and with help from Rubmle-Bee, slipped the dress over Aurore’s head and had the blonde covered adequately.

“I’ll come back and pay for it later,” Fortuna said after she noticed Rumble-Bee giving her a look.

“No need!” The pair froze. There was an older man crawling forwards through the slightly wrecked shop.

“You were to have evacuated, sir,” Fortuna said.

“I’m old and I have faith you will fix this, Ladybug,” the man said. 

“We’re probably going to need stuff for the other possessed people,” Rumble-Bee said rubbing her arm. The man all but threw clothes at them. The ended up taking two more dresses, four shirts, and four pairs of sweats. Rumble-Bee was good at judging sizes and knew the sizes of the remaining possessed people. 

“I’ll make sure to come back and shop at your store, but for our peace of mind, please take shelter on holy ground. Most major religious institutions will do,” Fortuna said. 

“I promise, Ladybug,” the man said. They left and carried Aurore with them. The double beeping forced them to take shelter in a nearby catholic church. 

—————————————— ————————————

Aurore opened her eyes to a stone ceiling. She was herself again. She looked down and saw she was wearing an ok-ish dress over that horrid skirt those maniacs had dressed her in. She heard voices talking.

“Peacock and Red Fox just checked in. They purified their guy and made a stop back at Peacock’s. She took on Touttais and sent him into the rain barrier.” She knew that voice. They went to the same school. Alya of the Ladyblog.

“Any thing from the others?” That voice. Ladybug!

“Hero Turtle checked in, He and Paladin are fighting Nemain, who is currently possessing Mireille, and Hawkmoth went after Touttais who showed up at their fight.” Alya said.

“As soon as I’m done resting I’m going after him. He’s going to get himself killed!” Ladybug. She was helping Hawkmoth against Touttais.

“What was that spell?” Alya again.

“I just trusted myself and I knew the words.” Ladybug seemed to be standing up from the noises.

“What does it mean?” Alya also stood. There was almost insect like wing flutters. Like there was a bee present.

“I’m not sure.” Ladybug unsure about something. No. This had to be a dream.

“According to the internet, it refers to an aspect of Fortuna associated with dawn. I think Aurore’s awake.”

 

Footsteps approached her and she saw yellow fill her eyes. Looking up revealed a heroine in a bee-themed costume with fluttering bee wings on her back and a spinning top hanging from her hips by a glowing string. 

“How are you feeling?” she asked offering Aurore a hand. She took it to sit up. This new heroine sounded just like Alya but couldn’t be her. A superhero at her school that sounded insane. Didn’t it? 

“I feel a bit drained but otherwise ok,” Aurore said shaking her head. There was a flash of white light and someone who looked like Ladybug but not quite her. 

“You were possessed by a dark goddess. According to our allies, she was called Andraste. You need to stay here, because it's holy ground,” Not-Ladybug said.

“What happened to you?”

“Temporarily, I’m also Fortuna,” Not-Ladybug/Fortuna said, “We’ll check up on you later. Stay here.” 

“Of course,” Aurore said.

——————————————————— ——————————————————

_Brigid was surprised at how little Nemain had to throw at the girl she was guiding. Mireille handled everything decently well. She arrived infant of her akuma villain form._

_“We both know you’re not me. I’m stronger than you,” Storm Warning said._

_“No. Ladybug told me that it doesn’t matter what people think,” Mireille crossed her arms, “I’m done with you. I don’t need you.”_

_“Eh, fine,” the image shattered and Nemain appeared. She had wild blonde hair streaked with black, “I’m a battle goddess. I need opponents. Summoning me for some “doomsday” plot isn’t my style. Hey, Brigid, what are you doing here?”_

_“Improper summoning,” Brigid said._

_“Yeah, I can relate. I don’t need people slitting throats to get me to show up,” Nemain said, “The other Morrigan are calling me. Kid, the Paladin is about to kick me out, so thanks for the short ride!” The light cleared and she saw a metal chest plate and fell unconscious._

————————————————— ——————————————

Fortuna arrived in time to see Mireille’s form fall to the ground. Nino covered his eyes. She tossed him the bag of clothes before leaping at Touttais, who was currently in an intense sword fight with Hawkmoth who was starting to tire. There had been a few scored hits on his arms and legs, the blood staining the violet suit. Fortuna drove her legs into his side sending him flying into a building across the street. She winced. She hated damaging things.

“Lady of Fortune, imagine running into you here,” Touttais said, “So you two _are_ working cooperatively. I’m sure if my vessel had control of this body, he’d be shocked but, mortals will always do shocking things to survive. So will immortals. I will see you later, Lady of Fortune, but I have a bird to find and fry.” He melted into shadows.

“He’s going to hurt Madeleine,” Hawkmoth said.

“He can try,” Fortuna said. Rumble-Bee landed next to her carrying a bag of clothing.

“I sent Hero Turtle to the church we stashed Aurore after dressing her. We need to search the city for other people who didn’t leave like that shop owner,” Rumble-Bee said. The Miraculouses of the three wielders on the roof beeped in unison. They answered it and it became a projection in front of them. It was Red Fox with Jean-Louis behind him as they ran.

“Peacock is currently fighting off another possessed one. I’m trying to get Jean-Louis out through the rain barrier, as she wanted. I’d feel better if someone backed her up!” Hawkmoth was gone before anyone could blink. Paladin followed him from the ground moments later.

“I guess he’s got this,” Rumble-Bee said, “Hawkmoth is headed that way.”

“Rumble-Bee and I will be searching for others who didn’t leave the city or couldn’t make it out. Get back to the main base before dark,” Fortuna said.

“Yes, Ma’am!” Red Fox said. The message cut out.

—————————————————————— ——————

Peacock flipped and twisted her fan at the flying form. Segomo shrieked at her, sounding like an eagle. Her more Peacock like instincts flared up. She quashed them. She was a woman, not a bird. Segomo ducked a blade of light and she looked down to see it was Paladin and standing on the roof across from her was Hawkmoth.

“You two don’t fight honorably!” he growled.

“Honor means nothing in a battle for life and death,” Hawkmoth sneered. Segomo snorted,

“The villain is the one who says this, of course. I think I’ll leave this for another day. Your wings will be mine, bird!”

“I’d be happy to purify you anytime, any place!” Peacock said before Segomo flew away. She looked over Hawkmoth’s injuries.

“What did you do?” she asked before she touched the broach, “Healing light.” He held up a hand and pointed up. Suddenly, she heard it too. A chopper. She looked up, and her enhanced sense let her know it was a news-chopper. 

“I’m going up there. Go find the others and warn them,” Peacock said before she used her fan to help her take off into the air and flew the rest of the wayhovering next to the helicopter, the door was opened and she carefully slid inside of it, though her fan made things awkward.

“Who are you? Why were you working with Hawkmoth and who was that?” the on reporter asked.

“I’m the Miraculous Peacock. Hawkmoth is working with the others in Paris fighting off a supernatural threat that is currently being contained because the young lady currently wielding the powers of luck made a barrier. You need to get out of here before one of these dark deities possessing the bodies of famous teenagers decides to knock this helicopter from the sky. If this is broadcasting live, to those of you who didn’t or couldn’t leave Paris for whatever reasons, either get to that storm ringing the city, or to the nearest holy ground. Church, Synagog, Mosque, Temple, any thing used for years for worship is holy ground.”

“Who are the other heroes in the city right now?”

“Red Fox, Rumble-Bee, and Hero Turtle. Hawkmoth has even joined us. Perhaps he will see that not plaguing the city with akuma is the better course of action,” Peacock said, “Hold onto your seats, I’m headed back out.” 

She flew out the side and free fell for a few moments before spreading her wings and twirling through the air. With the other trailing parts of her costume, she really did look like a peacock in flight as she glided on the wind away from the chopper.

————————————————— ——————————

Sabine and Tom sat in a relief tent the World Aide Organization set up to handle all the fleeing Parisians and kept their heads buried in the TV. The destruction these beings were inflicting on the city broke their hearts. What broke their heart more was the fact they’d seen and heard nothing about their daughter. Her friends were also missing. The Peacock woman flew up at the chopper and her voice rang clearly over the air,

“…….. to those of you who didn’t or couldn’t leave Paris for whatever reasons, either get to that storm ringing the city, or to the nearest holy ground.”

“Marinette’s a smart girl. She probably will hide in Norte Dame and sketch until the crisis passes surrounded by macaroons she packed from the bakery,” Tom said holding Sabine close.

“You’re right,” Sabine said as she focused on the screen, focused on the the red and black figure on the screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're two thirds of the way through.
> 
> Part 2 Chapter 4's title song is "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons


	8. Part 3 Chapter 1: I will not be giving in tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Spooky, Scary Skeletons send shivers down your spine_
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> With the dead walking the earth, and other strange things happening around the city of lights, Team Miraculous has more to deal with than ever, especially since Paris wasn't as evacuated as they'd thought.

**** Fortuna landed on the roof of the Patisserie as the sun set. The others were already inside. Well everyone except the Agrestes who returned to their home, which as the house had been home to three different kwami over the years, made it one of the most powerful sites in the city. Only Master Fu’s would be more powerful. 

“It’s less awkward with the adults not here,” Alya said once she dropped her transformation and caught Nambii. 

“Especially Mr. Agreste. If it weren’t for Adrien, I’d deck him. It totally figures that’s he’s Hawkmoth,” Nino said with Wayzz in his hands. Nathanaëlshrugged,

“Mrs. Agreste is really intense about this whole thing,” he said, “I can’t blame her.” There was silence until the four’s stomaches rumbled.

“Dinner time,” Marinette said with Tikki and Plagg in her hands. They set up a platter for the kwami to eat with all their favorites on the tray. The five kwami eagerly ate their favorite foods as Marinette went downstairs into the bakery and grabbed a few baguettes she knew were older andneeded used up. She was about to head upstairs whenever she saw a person run right at the doors and pound on them. She dropped the bread and ran over to the door letting them in.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“What are you doing here! Get to a church, now!” the man said trying to drag her. Luckily, being a super heroine paid off. She held her ground.

“I’ll head over in a bit,” she said making him let go. 

“It’s your life!” the guy said before he left. She locked the door and turned off the lights in the bakery to avoid attracting any other well meaning citizens. She picked up the baguettes and sighed before tossing them out. She’d trampled them as she ran to the door. She grabbed a couple others and some sweets that needed eaten before going back up stairs. She’d set the food on the counter as someone pounded on the private residence door. She peeked out a window carefully and saw there was a decent sized group of people in the streets running. She looked at Tikki who nodded.

“Spots On!”

————— —— ——————————

Ladybug carefully crawled out the roof hatch and swung down to the man currently pounding on her back door.

“Are you alright?” Ladybug asked.

“We’re saved. You have to stop them.”

“Stop what?” The she looked and blinked. She blinked again. Nope. she _was_ seeing skeletons chasing Parisians down the street.

“Get to holy ground, I’ll call the others,” she said, “Go!”

“But I know there are people inside!”

“I’ll take care of them. Go!” Ladybug said before she leapt up to the third floor and knocked on a window. Rumble-Bee let her in and Plagg floated over to her, grabbing onto a pig-tail.

“We have skeletons on the streets,” Ladybug said.

“We know,” Red Fox said pointing to the TV. Another newsfeed showed the scene. A scroll at the bottom proclaimed it live drone feed. Well. At least it wasn’t people. Just their very shiny toys. Whatever.

“We’re going to have to be careful and help people get into holy grounds safely,” Ladybug said, “So much for eating.”

“Look at Paladin go!”

“I guess Hawkmoth called him again, if he even released him,” Plagg said.Ladybug walked over to the food and quickly carved off hunks of baguettes with a knife and tossed the bread to the others.

“It’s better than nothing, but I had something better planned,” Ladybug said before she swung out into the night nibbling bread. She landed behind the others and spun her yo-yo before flinging it at the skeletons she stuffed the rest of her bread into her face. She chewed and swallowed while ducking and mowing down a whole street of the bone monsters but for every skeleton she crumbled there seems to be two more. This was going to be a long night.

“Plagg, Claws Out!” Fortuna’s staff was doing more damage, especially after she let loose some of her control and the staff glowed. The skeletons turned to dust faster allowing her to take more out with one swing.

——————— ————————————————

Rumble-Bee wasn’t having too much effect against the undead, but she was able to herd the living into whatever religious building they were trying to get to. She punched a skeleton whenever it tried to bite a little girl and buzzed her into a church before buzzing out grabbing the holy water dish from the door with a “sorry” over her shoulder and splashing it at the skeletons making them dissolve. She pressed a button and Peacock’s face appeared.

“Not a good time, Bee,” she said.

“Can you or Ladybug bless things?” Rumble-Bee asked.

“I can consecrate things and I’m sure Ladybug could,” Peacock said. Rumble-Bee looked around and her street was clear of people. She was actually close to home. That gave her and idea.

—————————————————— ——————

Hero Turtle had moderate success with his attacks. He smartly dipped his shield in the puddles and the water, while diluted by the non-sacred rains they’d gotten, still helped his attacks work against the undead monsters. He cleared the people off that street and then saw fire too his right. He leapt up and over to see that it was Red Fox? 

“How are you doing that?” Hero Turtle asked.

“I felt cornered and then that happened,” Red Fox said. The street was clear and the fox miraculous was beeping.

“Your fox fire was impressive but you’re going to change back,” Hero Turtle said. Red Fox nodded before he made his way back to the bakery for a quick recharge stop. Hero Turtle heard laughter and followed the sound to Rumble-Bee armed with a huge cammel-pack and supersoaker and it was dissolving skeletons.

“How are you doing that?” he asked.

“Fortuna can bless stuff,” Rumble-Bee said. There were flashes of light, indicating where Peacock, Paladin, and Fortuna were. Hero Turtle found an open house and turned on the TV to see if there were any other people in the open. The drone feeds weren’t showing much else but they still needed to keep looking. 

It was going to be a long night.

—————————————————— ——————————————

It was nearly three in the morning whenever the six heroes of Paris found the streets of the city were now truly empty but about a dozen holy sights were not. They needed to somehow legally get supplies to the people trapped. They would worry about it after they got some food and then some rest.

————— —————————————————————

Marinette woke up to Alya laughing. She blearily walked down the ladder and Alya was watching the news.

“The newscasters don’t know what to make of us,” Alya said, “Peacock’s speech helped but people don’t know how to handle all of us.” 

“No one got caught on camera, did they?” Marinette asked.

“Not yet, but it was close a few times,” Alya said, “There are talks of air drops of supplies where the people are.”

“We’d better eat. I have a feeling The remaining four will do something to make it impossible for these supplies to land without our interference,” Marinette said before she and Alya went down the stairs. Nino was already up and had made toast and eggs. Marinette dug in and proceeded to feed Tikki and Plagg who ate quickly.

“There are still skeletons on the streets but according to reports, they seem to be coming from the catacombs. Chances are, one of the other entities is there,” Alya said checking the web and posts to the Ladyblog.

“I’m seeing stuff about creepy stuff near the Palais Garnier,” Nino said, “Totally not normal.”

“And the one guy is perched on the Arc de Triomphe,” Nathanial said pointing to the live feed.

“Touttais is seen destroying random sections of the city. He seems like he’s searching for something,” Alya said.

“With only three potential purifiers, we need to make a choice. Take out the minions or take out Touttais,” Marinette said.

———————————————————————————————————— ———————————

“I can handle the one on the tower,” Madeleine said into the phone after the others had called the house, “I’ll wait for Fox first, but I can’t wait forever.” George finished his pancakes and nodded to Gabriel who transformed after getting a nod from Nooroo. This time, the Champion wasn’t Paladin. Or even a knight. George wore flight suit with a full helmet carrying a flame thrower. Herra shrugged and kept nibbling on cake.

“Heat Resistance,” Hawkmoth said, “You will go and exterminate the undead you see before you.” George nodded before he ran off with the thrower.

“We are down one. Today’s champion does not purify,” Madeleine said into the phone, “Alright. Meet you at the Palais Garnier if I can. Fan Out!”Peacock kissed Hawkmoth on the cheek before she walked out the door.She landed under the Eiffel Tower and promptly had to dodge an attack from Segomo. His form had mutated overnight. Now he had the wings and eyes of an eagle.

“Like it? Because it’s going to be the last thing you see!” His fingers had talons protruding from them. Peacock narrowed her eyes and screeched at him sounding just like her namesake before attacking with her fan. She took off into the sky after him and it became an aerial battle. 

———————————————————— —————————

Fortuna arrived in at the entrance to the catacombs only to now see Deidre’s body lounging on a throne of bones, looking utterly bored. Though, despite sitting on a grotesque throne, Fortuna had to admit the shimmering purple roman style dress she was wearing looked amazing.

“Ah, if it isn’t the mortal using my divine sister’s name,” she said.

“I didn’t catch your name,” Fortuna said.

“Trivia,” she said, “What to do with you. I know, I wonder how Fortuna would do in your body, false-goddess!” Fortuna leapt back right into a barrier of light.

“I’m the goddess of ghosts, graves, and magic, mortal,” Trivia said before she snapped her fingers. Green and red light filled the circle and Fortuna felt her mind being crushed under the weight. She blackout out. 

_Marinette stood in the middle of what looked like a larger version of her room. There were things everywhere that belonged and few that didn’t. Like there was a picture of her, Adrien and their kwamis, and there was a woman staring at her._

_“You know, Trivia doesn’t seem to understand it,” she said. The woman was blonde and had a pair of wings. She was also wearing a toga, “I’m not upset by you. Tikki is my predecessor by many years, I’m flattered the wielder of the quantic powers of good and bad luck is going by my name,” she said, “Though she’s expecting me to do something. I know, you’re going to need this to really play the part.” The goddess touched Marinette’s back making her gasp as a pair of wings formed on her back. Unlike the avian wings the Goddess bore, Marinette could tell that these were Ladybug wings, without the shell and but they were also iridescent like a dragonfly._

_“Please tell Trivia to get out of that body. Her true form is far better looking._

Fortuna pushed herself up with her staff and the light cleared. She could hear her wings fluttering and feel them spreading.

“Your sister says to get out of that body, because your true form is better looking.”

“What a party-pooper. She didn’t even possess you to yell at me!” Trivia said, “Skeletons, attack!” 

 

Silence. 

“You didn’t notice the man with a flame thrower burning up your skeletons?” Fortuna said pointing behind her to the piles of ashes and the retreating form of Heat Resistance. He was chasing another group of skeletons with his flames. Trivia growled as Fortuna twirled her staff around making it glow,

“ _Fortuna Huiusce Diei_!” She said slamming it forwards and nailing the still angry Trivia. Everything stopped and Deidra’s form dropped to the ground, but her gown of shimmering violet didn’t change and neither did how pale Deidre’s skin was now.

Four down. Three to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the beginning of the last act of this story.
> 
> Part 3 Chapter 1's title song is "Hope of Morning" by Icon for Hire.


	9. Part 3 Chapter 2: In every lost soul the bones of a miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With only Three of the dark gods left, and civilians to take care of, Team Miraculous has split up to cover more ground and find Paris is stranger than they could have ever dreamed.
> 
> Touttais is getting more desperate and destructive the longer everything drags out.

**** _Brigid the Healer watched as Marcel was losing the fight through the labyrinth and they were losing their window. The Purifier was gone, but they were already navigating the maze, they couldn’t go back. Then it happened again, after a while and it was the Peacock again. She hoped the Peacock came through this time, or there would be irreversible damage to this boy._

—————————————— ———————————

Rumble-Bee had every intention of joining Fortuna but she saw the fight happening in mid-air. No way could Red Fox help.

“Fortuna, I’m going to help Peacock. Red Fox go back up Fortuna,” Rumble-Bee said before she took off into the sky towards the fight. She could see a drone was already recording this footage. She plowed into Segomo and sent him down several feet in the air.

“Need a hand?”

“Hard Work and Truth always work well together,” Peacock said before they resumed the fight. Rumble-Bee twirled the top and threw it like a bola pinning Segomo’s arms to his sides but he threw her off balance as his form mutated further.

“We’re going to have to purify him as quickly as possible,” Peacock said.

“Why?” Rumble-Bee said.

“The long a corrupting influence is within a body, the worse it is after the corruption is purged,” Peacock said.Rumble-Bee nodded before she manipulated her top and the strip to appear more like a sling-shot. The top glowed yellow.

“Bee Sting!” she shot it and it hit Segomo freezing him in the air.

“It will only hold for a minute, exorcize him!” Rumble-Bee said. Peacock charged up her fan as fast as she could and slammed it forwards the instant she could, just as the Bee Sting wore off.

“Evil Sprit, be gone!” The light hit the possessed boy and when it cleared, Marcel was back to being himself. Rumble-Bee caught him and flew him to Notre-Dame. She pulled out clothing and pulled it on him. She ducked into a side room shutting the door before she de-transformed. She looked down at Nambii who weakly gave her a thumbs up. She pulled the honey bottle out of her bag and handed it to the bee kwami. As for the heroine, she slumped against the wall to relax.

———————— ——————————— 

Peacock fled in a hard to follow pattern back home and released her transformation in the back garden before heading inside to feed Herra and get something to pick her up too.

——————— ————————————————————————

Red Fox arrived to see Heat Resistance had burned away most of the skeletons and Fotuna was fluttering above them? He hopped up.

“When did you get wings?” he asked.

“They’re new, Let’s head over to the Palais Garnier. Hawkmoth and Hero Turtle are getting the supplies to the civilians. Rumble-Bee and Peacock took down Segomo. We’re down to just two,” Fortuna said.

“And then the nightmare will be over,” Red Fox said.

“Yes. So will the terror of Hawkmoth,” Fortuna said, “He has what he wants, so he won’t be after the Miraculous anymore.”

“Does that mean we’ll have to return them?” Red Fox asked.

“I’m not sure. I have a feeling that even though we won’t have akumas, we’re going to be busy,” Fortuna said. They crossed Paris and Fortuna had to dodge a direct attack from Touttais who was now wielding a black metal sword.

“It took ripping apart this city, but I finally found my favorite sword!” he said as he tried to plunge it into her heart. Fortuna blocked with her staff and forced him back. She let the power flow and the next hit caused hissing sparks. They broke a part, he melted into shadows, and then appeared on the street below her leaping up at her forcing her to block and be sent flying out of control. She righted herself and kicked Touttais in the gut sending him away from her and into a lamppost. She dove at him and he blocked her with his sword and she was forced to break off the strike before blocking a thrust of his sword.

—————————————————————————— —————————————————————

Red Fox met Peacock at the doors of the Palais Garnier.

“After you,” he said bowing at the waist.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Peacock said fluffing his hair. There appeared no one in the grand building but there was some creepy music coming from the performance hall. Peacock stiffened.

“What?”

“Banshees.” 

“Banshees?”

“They’re British creatures whose wailing signals someone is going to die or death is near. Don’t touch them, or it will be you,” Peacock said.

“It’s been years, Peacock.” She whirled and it was a giant black cat.

“Cat Sith,” Peacock explained to Red Fox, “Also don’t mess with them. Why are all you Fae here?”

“The Kind of the Underworld always throws such magnificent parties when he’s on this plane, neither court would miss it,” the Cat Sith said. 

“Those idiots summoned Arawn thinking he was dangerous because he was a death deity?” Peacock said.

“He can be dangerous to those who violate the balance of life and death, Peacock,” it was one of the Banshees.

“But he doesn’t harm mortals the way Touttais does,” Peacock said.

“No, he does not. Once the party is over, he will voluntarily vacate the young man’s body with no nasty side-effects,” the banshee said.

“If I might be so bold, may I speak with him? It would also be a good chance for my teammate to see the other spirits that inhabit this world,” Peacock said looking to Red Fox.He nodded.

“He’s almost as wide-eyed as you were once,” the Cat Sith said. 

“Any other advice?” Red Fox said.

“Don’t eat the food or drink the wine unless you want to end up with an ungodly hang-over and find you’ve slept the last fifty years away,” Peacock said, “The only protection your Miraculous would give you is that you wouldn’t wake up as a 65 year old.”

“Understood,” Red Fox said, “This is amazing, isn’t it?”

 

“It is. I’m going to message the others to direct them away from here,” Peacock said pulling up her fan and swiping all the symbols except the fox, though the yin-yang that was Fortuna didn’t respond the others did.

“Do not go to the Palais Garnier. Red Fox and I have it handled. Focus all efforts on Touttais or helping the citizens of Paris.”

“Rodger that Peacock!” Hero Turtle said.

“I expect you’re not in any danger,” Hawkmoth said.

“It’s a gathering of Fae and one of the possessed is here, so this requires delicate handling. I promise I won’t be vanishing anytime soon,” Peacock said. Hawkmoth stared at her before he nodded and his communication cut out. 

“That sounds amazing. I’m jealous. Red Fox, I expect you to draw me pictures later,” Rumble-Bee said, “And tell me all about this.”

“Of course,” Red Fox said. Rumble-Bee signed off and Peacock ended the communication. The Banshee looked impressed.

“All the Miraculous wielders are working together? It really is a sign of the end,” she said.

“Let’s hope not,” Peacock said, “I only just got out of the Shadow World, and I haven’t even gotten to really enjoy being back yet because of this current crisis.”

“Ouch, that sucks,” the Cat Sith said, “We knew you couldn’t have died. The Seelie Queen was worried.”

“Queen Fiona was? I’ll have to pay my regards to her when I next have the chance,” Peacock said.

“Your little protege is staring again,” the Cat Sith said.

“He’s new, but he’ll soon learn that in a world like ours, strange things happen to even those who aren’t human,” Peacock said.

—————————————————————— —————————

Brigid nodded after she’d looked into Raphael’s Maze. He and Adrien were the only two left. She hadn’t even had a chance to guide Deidre back whenever Fortuna purged Trivia from her completely. There wouldn’t be too much damage but going through the maze ensured less nightmares during recovery. Oh well.

“Arawn will vacate your body voluntarily after a party. He really didn’t want to be summoned in the first place,” Brigid said, “He’s the king of the Otherworld and has a lot of work to do.”

“So, he has been throwing a huge party and I’ve been in here? That’s so not fair,” Raphael said.

“Chances are, after this, the Fae will patronize you because you’ve been touched by Arawn, which means you’ll have connections to things you didn’t even know about. This is really good for your career,” Brigid said.

“Oh. That’s awesome, I guess. What about Adrien?” Raphael.

“As a Miraculous user, he’s already semi-revered by them, and nothing Touttais will do can destroy his reputation. He didn’t voluntarily take on that entity so he’s blameless in the eyes of the supernatural community,” Brigid said.

“That’s good to know,” Adrien said clutching his head, “I think he’s trying to absorb me.”

“He is. He knows that Arawn won’t help him. Segomo is gone. Nemain is gone. Trivia is gone. Andraste is gone. Rudianos is gone. He’s alone against a young woman holding the powers of good and bad luck. Creation and Destruction. So far, she has only tapped into her creation magic, as amplified as it has been,” Brigid said, “We’re going to need to prepare you. Your cleansing needs to be on two levels. Without you breaking his hold on you, you will never be totally free of him. He would be bound to your life-force lurking and waiting to take control of you again. You can’t force him out, but you can break loose of him.”

“That made no sense,” Raphael said.

“It’s like slicing the roots of a tree, right? It won’t topple over from that but when it does topple, the roots can’t do anything to stop it,” Adrien said.

“But, if we do this, there will be things that not even Ladybug can remove as side effects on your body. I don’t know what will happen but, you will never be the same. Knowing this, will you proceed?” Brigid said.

“Yes.” Adrien walked towards a section of the wall that called him and it opened to reveal a shattered room. It looked like a combination of Paris roof-tops and Adrien’s bed room. Pictures on the wall that weren’t there in real life were everywhere and the book case was full of strange titles. This was him.

“This is a representation of your spiritual state. This destruction is Touttais best attempts to remove you. These are his attempts to assimilate you,” Brigid pointed to the pulsing roots that were everywhere.

“Is this my doing?”

“Them looking like that? Yes. This is your head,” Brigid said, “We need to get started while he’s distracted with your Lady of Fortune. They are going head to head. He is very desperate, and he will be trying to kill her and he will try to make you watch so he can try to break you, do not let him break you.”

“I won’t.” Adrien said. He raised a hand and Brigid caught him.

“No destruction magic. You’ll only make his hold on you stronger.”

“How can I destroy these then?” Adrien asked.

“Focus on love,” Brigid said.

How?” Adrien said.

“Think of your Lady of Fortune. Think of your mother. Your love for them is still evident in this shattered place,” Brigid said pointing to the pictures. Memories. These were his memories. He remembered those times with his mother and father and the times with Ladybug. All of them made him feel warm and that he could do anything. He wasn’t alone. A white light appeared before him and it was a white blade. Just the right size for root clean up. Soon, he would be free of all of this, but in the mean time, he had some gardening to do.

———————————————————————— —————————————————

Rumble-Bee arrived at the scene of the battle to see parts of the 16th Arrondissement were on fire. Touttais’s doing, no doubt. Fortuna and Touttais were clashing in mid-air. Touttais leaping off roofs to try to land an attack on his opponent. The sparks flying made Rumble-Bee think of _Star Wars_. Hawkmoth was watching from next to Hero Turtle.

“We got the supplies to the people whenever this started,” Hero Turtle said, “There’s a trail of destruction across to the 9th Arrondissement.” 

“Let’s hope her Miraculous Cure can fix the city,” Rumble-Bee said.

“Let’s focus on getting the dark god out of my son first,” Hawkmoth said.

“Shouldn’t Peacock be here?” Hero Turtle asked.

“If she left now, she’d make an enemy of a bunch of fairies, and that would mean bad things for all of us,” Rumble-Bee said.

“How-no,  _Why_ do you know this?” Hero Turtle asked.

“Because, weird things happen in Paris all the time. You’ve got to be prepared for everything,” Rumble-Bee said.

“What can we do?” Hero Turtle said. 

“Cover me,” Hawkmoth said after a moment. Hero Turtle used his shield’s growing powers to cover up the reformed villain’s detransformation. He calmly pulled a bag of strawberries out of his coat pocket and Nooroo ate them gratefully.

“Is there anything we three can do to help Fortuna against Touttais?” Gabriel asked.

“There is one thing. Once we do it, we can’t move and it only lasts five-minutes. We can create a barrier confining them to one area to prevent him from escaping. The only draw back is she won’t be able to escape either. You need to draw on your powers like you’re about to use your abilities and then say “Miraculous Limitation” to use the spell,” Nooroo said before stuffing the rest of the red fruit in his mouth and nodding to his wielder. 

“Dark Wings Rise.” Hawkmoth nodded.

 

They split up and found spots around the fight in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower. They already had their powers ready.Fortuna floated above them and Touttais leapt at her. Now!

“Miraculous Limitation!” the three said. Violet, Yellow, and, Green light shot up into the air forming a cylinder around Fortuna and Touttais who was slammed into the barrier by Fortuna. 

“What is this?” he snarled. She saw the anchors were Rumble-Bee, Hero Turtle, and Hawkmoth. This meant this was for her benefit. 

“What’s the matter, don’t like being alone with me?” she asked once they landed. Touttais glared and then tried to melt out. Nothing happened. 

“You can’t leave, can you?” Fortuna said.

“That won’t matter!” Touttais snarled, before he launched at her, sword drawn. She blocked the attack, skidding nearly into the barrier before she pushed back. The attacks grew more vicious. Fortuna was having trouble keeping up with the assaults as they grew faster and wilder.Like an animal, Touttais was cornered. This wasn’t good. He growled and the swordmade a wild swing that she barely blocked and it forced her to her knees. She pushed back, but she was getting tired. She pressed on the barrier to find, she was trapped too. This was a double-edged sword and she was not in the shape to try purifying him but this might be her only shot.

———————————————————— —————————————

Adrien sliced though the last root whenever one burst through from beneath him and ensnared him. He suddenly was seeing the real world and his Lady was barely fending off attacks. She was tiring. 

**Now for the end of her and your little resistance, vessel!** The sword was swung right at an opening in her defenses.

No!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost to the end and to Halloween.  
> Thanks to everyone who's been reading this the whole time.
> 
> Part 3 chapter 2's title song is "Waiting for Love" by Avicii.
> 
> Fun fact: I was listening to this song on a near constant loop as I wrote this.  
> It also inspired the title of a different fanfic I am currently writing.


	10. Part 3 Chapter 3: I'll be the guard cat of all your favorite dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all comes to a head: Fortune vs Destruction and Darkness vs Love.
> 
> In the end there is always a new beginning, and there are always consequences for actions

**** Adrien poured all his effort into controlling his arm. It seemed like a losing battle but he had to protect her. He loved her! He felt his hand stop and he tossed the blade aside. Touttais snarled as he wrenched control back and Adrien was then back in his mindscape. His white blade now a sword. He fought to get free and slashed it down at the root holding him, setting him free. There were a few large new roots, but with the sword, it was way less work to destroy the roots. He had done his part. It was his lady’s turn.

—————————— ————————————————

Fortuna was surprised whenever Touttais stopped his attack and threw his sword away before snarling and attacking her with his claws. It was like two different personalities—Adrien! He was fighting back. She owed it to him. She kicked Touttais back from her and began twirling her staff to start the process. He interrupted her forcing her to start over several times. She managed to complete it with a smirk,

“ _Fortuna Huiusce Diei_.” The light that poured forth was brighter than the other times and when it cleared, Touttais looked weaker, but she knew it hadn’t purified him. She narrowed her eyes at his smug smirk before she ran forwards and decked him out. The barrier dropped.

“We need to get out of here, now,” Hawkmoth said.

“Your house. We’re also going to need a different way to contain him,” Fortuna said before she let go of Plagg’s half of the transformation. 

“Lucky Charm!” a trophy dropped down. Everyone shrugged before she tossed it into the air.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” The magic did it’s job. A lot of the damage was undone, but there were cracks and other bits of damage that reminded people something happened here. The rains ringing the city stopped. The hole in the tunnel where the demons had emerged was not fixed. Nor were any of the crushed cars and none of the dead were back to life. They used the Miraculous Cure as a cover to run back to the Agreste mansion. 

 

“In my search for the Miraculous, I found other things,” Gabriel said before he left and returned with a set of golden chains. He snapped these on the unconscious Touttais’s wrists and led the others to a room in the attic of the mansion. It was filled with tons of fluttering butterflies.

“Your lair is a mess,” Alya said.

“Fits the evil lair theme, then.” Nino held out a hand and one of the butterflies landed on him before it flew back to it’s brethren. Gabriel laid Touttais in the center of the room.

“Why bring him up here?” Marinette asked.

“It’s a room few know about and Adrien has no memories of it. We’ll need to recharge before we continue,” Gabriel said. Marinette and the others exchanged looks before following him out of the room. 

————————————— ————————

Touttais came too in a dark room. It was an evil lair. Probably the Lord of Chaos’s because he was the villain turned ally because of him. The room’s scent was distorted and he couldn’t tell anything about it, just like he couldn’t smell anything about The Lord of Chaos. He was alone. He called upon his—ow! The cuffs had given him a jolt for trying to use his powers. Clever bastard. To think chains like _this_ were still around. There was awindow covered by a sort of iris shaped screen. the only light was purple and muted. He heard footsteps and turned to see it was the Lord of Chaos flanked by the Lady of Fortune, the Lady of Rebirth, and the Lord of Order. 

“You really think you can treat me like some simple demon and think you’ll win?” he said. He was met by silence.

“Silent treatment? Harsh. Really hurting me.” More silence as the Lady of Fortune picked up a piece of chalk and drew a perfect circle before herself big enough for two people. She and the others drew more symbols. He knew what those were. Like hell we would—

“Bee Sting!” He was paralyzed. Damnit!

—————————— ——————————————

Hawkmoth carried Touttais to the circle and set him in front of Fortuna on his knees. She place her hands on the sides of his face.

“ _Favente fortuna in unum oro puri coram restitutionem_.” There was a bright flash of light and Fortuna found herself in a strange place. It was a shattered room.In the center of the room there was a familiar form in black.

“Chat Noir!” Fortuna said running towards him. He turned and though he was Chat Noir, his mask was missing revealing Adrien’s face, though he still had the cat eyes. He also had a large white sword.

“Am I dreaming?” he asked.

“No,” Fortuna said, “I’m here.” Before she could reach him the ground between them erupted in pulsing roots and a bunch of them slammed the blond into the wall. 

“Fortune’s favor!” The roots were vaporized and it was shown that Adrien was trapped in a column of crystal. He was also back to being his civilian self. He pounded on the crystal to no avail.

“Finally, that bitch’s protection wore off!” Fortuna turned to see a humanoid cat walking towards her. Acid green eyes and black fur, “Care to try to tangle with me in an area where I rule?”

“This is not your body. It’s Adrien’s,” Fortuna said.

“Is it? Because Your little pet has quite the potential for mayhem. He likes being his destruction self. After all, who’d want his real self? He’s a doll for this father. A blank slate for people who don’t even know him to project anything onto. An accessory to his oldest friend. Nothing more than your pet—.”

“You’re wrong! Adrien is not a doll! He’s not my pet! He’s my partner!” Fortuna said, “And I love him!”

“Do you love Adrien or do you love Adrien Agreste the supermodel?”

“I love the guy who is sweet and patient with everyone, even Chloe. I love the guy who makes terrible cat puns on patrol. I love the guy who while he is an incurable flirt, respects my boundaries. I love the guy who I’ve been rejecting because I have a huge crush on his civilian self all because of an act of kindness in the rain. Maybe I don’t know him as well as I’d like, but I know that I can’t do this without him.”

“But he doesn’t notice any other girls with crushes on him,” Touttais sneered.

“That’s because as my civilians self, I can barely say a coherent sentence around him most times,” Fortuna said.

“That would make you—.”

————————— ————— ———————————

He needed to get out of this prison. This was _his_ mind

_“That’s because as my civilians self, I can barely say a coherent sentence around him most times.”_

“Marinette?” Adrien said. Oh for the love of—It made perfect sense! they were strong, compassionate, and great leaders. The magic of their suits had prevented him from realizing how identical they looked, but that was probably a good thing. He’d promised to love the lady beneath the mask no matter what and Marinette was easy to love. He closed his eyes and focused before white light built up around him and destroyed his prison. He looked down and he was back to being mostly transformed into Chat Noir. The white sword was back. He leapt over and joined his Lady.

—————————— —————————— —————

“—Marinette. The baker’s girl who is really good at video games if I’m looking through these memories correctly,” Touttais said, “A girl he sees as cute but a friend because he’s completely in love with Ladybug. Would you ever know if he liked you and not just Ladybug, Lady of Fortune?” There was a crash and a figure in black landed next to Fortuna wielding and even larger white sword than before.

“Nice to see you, _minou_ ,” Fortuna said, “Is that a buster-sword? I didn’t want to believe it, but here it is in front of me; you really _are_ a huge weeb.”

“And _purr-_ oud of it, My Lady,” Adrien said with a grin.

“It matters not. I’ve merged with him too deeply to be simply removed!” Touttais said.

“Then we’ll have to take you out piece by piece!” Adrien said.

“Touch your blade to my staff,” Fortuna said. They aimed the weapons at Touttais who merely laughed.

“ _Fortuna Huiusce Diei_!” she said the light that poured forth was blinding and when it cleared the monster was now trapped in a crystal and his roots were no more. 

“I have to recharge or I could lose control of the power and really mess things up,” Fortuna said, “I’ll be back, I promise.” Adrien nodded before everything around him seemed to shift and he fell like everything hurt before he briefly saw blue eyes and freckles and darkness.

—————————————————————————— —————————————————————

Marinette sat across from the mostly changed over form. He was back to being the right age and size, but the feline attributes were still present. Tikki and Plagg were exhausted. Luckily, Gabriel had been thoughtful enough to leave a wheel of camembert and some cookies in the room for them. The duo were currently stuffing their faces as quickly as possible.

“How is he?” Marinette looked up to see Madeleine was there.

“How was that fairy thing?” Marinette said.

“Dull, like always. Arawn sends his apologies for borrowing the young man’s body for so long with a promise to help send the restless spirits caused by Touttais’s actions to their rest,” she said sitting next to Marinette.

“He knows who I am but I can’t tell if he’s happy about it or not because we still have to get Touttais banished completely,” Marinette said hugging her knees.

“You’ll both have time to figure this out later. Are Tikki and Plagg recharging?” Madeleine asked.

“Yeah,” Marinette gesture to where the duo were eating, “I can’t wait to give this back.” She played with the silver inactive black cat miraculous, “I don’t like having this much power. It feels like I could get lost in it.”

“That’s a very mature choice,” Madeleine said.

“I also don’t want to be a hero if he’s not my partner,” Marinette said. Madeleine patted her arm before she noticed the form on the floor was stirring. She pulled Marinette back.

“Should we transform?” Herra asked holding a small piece of cake.

“Not yet,” Madeleine said reaching out and gently patting the blue kwami’s head. 

———————————— —————————————

It was a gloomy room, but he could see just fine. Wait, this was the real world. He sat up and looked down at his hand, they were restrained by a pair of manacles and there were claws coming from his finger tips. 

“Adrien?” He looked up and saw Marinette and—

“Mother?” he said. Both ladies exchanged looks before he was all but tackled into a hug. He felt warm and safe and wet? Oh, they were crying. So was he.

“But we haven’t purged Touttais out yet,” Marinette said as she let go and wiped away some of her tears. Adrien shrugged.

“We did lock him away,” Adrien said. He noticed Marinette was wearing his ring. Right, she was using both. Something tiny grabbed his neck and he heard loud purring.

“You’re never playing hero again,” Plagg complained through the purr. His mother let go and he noticed her blue kwami floating next to her.

“Hello, Adrien,” she said in a high voice, “I’m Herra, nice to finally meet you.”

“Where are we?” Adrien asked.

“We can’t tell you until we get Touttais out,” Marinette said, “Even though those cuffs will stop his powers, he has proven to be destructive and good at running.”

“I’m ready,” Tikki said.

“Me too,” Plagg said.

“I’ve never seen you this eager to transform,” Adrien said.

“Her whole house is PINK!” Plagg said in horror. 

“I’ll be going with you, this time,” Madeleine said looking over at Herra who swallowed the cake whole. 

“Spots On, Claws Out!”

“Fan Out!” Adrien winced at the sudden brightness but the different Ladybug he’d seen in the mindscape was back with a blue form he sort of remembered. Oh! That’s right, the shadow world.They went back to the circleand sat in a triangle. Peacock placed her hand on one side of his face and his Lady placed hers on the other.

“ _Favente fortuna in unum oro puri coram restitutionem_ ”

———————————————————————————— —————————

Fortuna and Peacock were standing on either side of Adrien who still had the white buster-sword. Peacock laughed.

“I knew getting you those games would be a bad idea,” she said. Adrien smiled before they went back to facing the now darkened pillar of crystal. Fortuna followed her instincts and began to twirl her staff as Peacock pulled off her fan and it began to glow. Adrien was left holding his sword over his shoulder watching the magic build and the pair’s finishing move. 

“Sword!” Fortuna said before he held it against her staff head. Peacock placed her fan against the other side.

“ _Fortuna Huiusce Diei_!”

“Evil Spirit begone!”

“Get out!” They swung their weapons as one just as Touttais broke free to get hit by the white light. Adrien felt it tearing at him too. They really were connected but he focused through the pain and imagined the threads being cut between them.

**You’re being foolish. Cutting those can cost you your chance at ever being fully human again**. Adrien ignored the voice and the light from Fortuna and Peacock soon washed everything away and the cracks in the room began to mend themselves. It was still obvious there had been cracks, but soon everything began to fill with white light.

———————— ——————————

Fortuna and Peacock opened their eyes to see Adrien slump off to the side. The cat traits were still there, only now the fur on them was the same golden color as his hair, and they were fluffy.

“Touttais is gone,” Madeleine said after she’d released her transformation.

“Claws in,” Ladybug slipped the ring off her finger and placed it back onto Adrien’s right hand. 

“Spots Off.” Marinette slumped forwards exhausted. Days of this and it was all now over.

——————————————— —————————————

Adrien rolled over and burrowed further into his blankets. Blankets? He sat up and everything came back in a jumbled rush making him clutch his head in pain only to have pain on his scalp. He removed his hands from his head and saw he still had claws.

“ ** _You’re being foolish. Cutting those can cost you your chance at ever being fully human again_**.” This was what Touttais meant. 

“Adrien!” He looked up to see his parents were in his doorway. They rushed over to him and hugged him. He heard a purring and he flushed whenever his parents went stiff and he realized that was _him_ purring. 

“You always behaved like a giant kitten,” his mother said before she placed a kiss on his head.

“I guess I’m not modeling anything anymore,” Adrien said.

“Modeling? Gabriel! You promised me he wouldn’t have anything to do with the brand until he was eighteen!” 

————————————— ———————————————

Marinette stood in front of her mirror with a frown. She hadn’t realized it, at first, but the ladybug wings were permanently part of her. Easily hidden because they folded up, but it was just a reminder of the worst days of her life. Paris’s citizens were back after she’d given the all clear and attempted to further fix the damage but the hole in the tunnel down into the lair of the cult who started this wouldn’t take to any sort of fixing magic. 

“I think they suit you,” Tikki said.

“Do you think Adrien’s having trouble with his side-effects?” Marinette said.. There was a tapping at her window. Chat Noir smiled at her through the glass. She motioned to the trap door and let him in.

“Good afternoon, Purrincess,” he said. Not much had changed about his transformation except the fake cat eats were now sort of armor over his real cat ears and the belt tail was wrapped around his real tail leaving a fluffy tip exposed like a lion. When transformed the fur on said appendages was black.

“Silly kitty, it’s still—oh. It is afternoon,” Marinette said before she looked at her phone. Chat Noir leapt off her bed platform with feline grace before releasing his transformation. Adrien smiled up at her with a still pointy smile. Marinette shrugged before she took off her sweater and spread her wings fluttering down.

“Father’s pulling me out of school, but I’ve heard that the others like me aren’t coming back for a while either,” Adrien said.

“It is kind of hard to miss these,” Marinette said before she fluttered up and scratched his cat ears making him purr a little.

“The purring’s new but adorable,” she said. Adrien blushed and stopped.

“Team Miraculous has a joint interview in about four hours,” Marinette said.

“Team Miraculous?” Adrien said.

“Touttais caused the other Miraculous stones to be given to chosen wielders and forced all of us to become one team. All of us,” Marinette said.

“Hawkmoth was working with you?” Adrien said.

 

“He should have revealed himself to you, oh well I’ll leave it for him to actually do another time. The others in the team aren’t exactly happy he’s still a Miraculous Holder, but after making a promise to Master Fu to never misuse the Butterfly Miraculous again, he was allowed to keep it and Nooroo,” Marinette said, “Well, enough about that. How are your parents doing?”

“They were ok, until Mother found out Father had me modeling way before she had originally told him he could. I think Father will be sleeping in a guest room for a few weeks,” Adrien said rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Marinette said blinking back tears. Adrien smiled and hugged her, minding the wings. He let her go.

“What was it like?” Adrien said.

“Exhausting. It was too much power. I could have destroyed everything if I hadn’t held back,” Marinette said, “And then remade it the way I wanted it, but that would have been wrong because what I want isn’t what everyone wants. I also really wanted my partner back.”

“So, we had crushes on each other and never knew it,” Adrien said awkwardly, “Let’s start over. Hello, I’m Adrien Agreste, former model but I’m also secretly a superhero.”

“Hi. I’m Marinette, just an ordinary girl with an ordinary life. But I have a secret that no one knows yet….”

 

Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who was along for the ride that was _Possession is 9/10ths of Murphy's Law_
> 
> The last chapter title song is "Immortals" by Fall Out Boy. 
> 
> There will probably be a sequel, but I won't be posting it yet. I like to have most things pre-written before posting.  
> It makes things easier when it comes to update schedules or makes stories like this one, which I decided to post in the lead up to Halloween, possible for rapid updates.  
> Happy Halloween!


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